Apparitions materialize on the backs of paintings while art smocks reveal the imprint of saintly heads in Katelyn Ledford’s skeptically mystical works at Fredericks and Freiser Gallery. Possessed of great skill in fooling the eye, Ledford paints what look to be the verso of framed artworks, suggesting that meaning might be found in what would normally be hidden from view. Messages like, ‘Keep looking’ or ‘free’ so convincingly appear to be rendered in masking tape that identifying the actual material – acrylic and oil – comes across as a revelation. Recurring clown faces, which the artist regularly dons on her social media, suggest a performative aspect to the painterly skill that entertains and delights her audience. (On view in Chelsea through Feb 7th).
