Tag: hales

Ebony G Patterson at Hales Gallery

In the darkened space of Hales Gallery’s Chelsea location, Ebony G. Patterson’s ‘night garden’ entices with elaborately cut works on paper and wall-mounted tapestry installations decorated with strings of beads, glitter and other alluring objects. Each features a female figure (here in pink) with missing face or other body parts, a representative of loss who is literally no longer whole herself.  Patterson explains that on occasions of mourning, it’s often women who are the public face of their family or community; as such, this central, sequined figure, like the garden around her, represents ‘beauty concealing trauma and violence.’ (On view through June 18th).

Ebony G. Patterson, ‘….in the swallowing…she carries the whole…the hole’ (partial view), hand-cut jacquard woven photo tapestry with appliqué, fabric, plastic, beads, feathers, trim, glitter, and wood mounted on wallpaper in two (2) parts, 50 3/8 x 86 1/4 x 5 7/8 in, 2021 – 2022.

Kay WalkingStick at Chelsea’s Hales Gallery

Kay WalkingStick’s paintings at Chelsea’s Hales Gallery traverse and glory in the North American landscape, from mountain peaks, to eroded canyons to windy shorelines.  Each is overlaid with a pattern derived from imagery created by Native American peoples who have lived in the areas depicted.  Together, the patterns and scenery speak to the deep connectedness of Native histories and culture and the land.  (On view through April 16th.)

Kay WalkingStick, (detail from) The San Francisco Peaks Seen from Point Imperiale, oil on panel in three parts, 31 ¾ x 95 ¼ x 2 inches, 2021.

Anthony Cudahy at Hales Gallery

Medicinal or deadly depending on its use, Antiaris toxicaria (aka the Anti-bausor tree) is the missing presence in this painting by Brooklyn-based painter Anthony Cudahy at Hales Gallery.  Partly inspired by an antique woodcut featuring two men lying on the ground under the fruit-bearing tree, here it’s the artist and his husband who lie prone.  But while it’s uncertain if the characters in the original woodcut are alive, Cudahy and partner appear to enjoy a peaceful sleep, occupying a subconscious realm complicated by the spider and webs in the upper register.  Alluding to Kate Bush’s ‘Coral Room,’ a song featuring a web-spinning ‘spider of time,’ the references place the couple in a poetic realm of dreams and memory.  (On view through Oct 30th in Chelsea.  Masks required).

Anthony Cudahy, Anti-bausor tree (protected sleepers, wolf’s-bane and spider around), Oil on canvas, 96 x 72 in, 2021.

Ebony G. Patterson at Hales Gallery

Gardens are sites of beauty and loss in Ebony G. Patterson’s rich, cut-paper collages currently on view at Hales Gallery in Chelsea.  Draped forms mimic hanging roots and abundant flora that obscure personal items (a doll, a purse) belonging to individuals who are not present.  Cut and ripped holes in the assemblage speak to violence that has turned a lush environment into a funerary display.  (On view through Dec 20th).

Ebony G Patterson, detail of ‘…below the crows, a blue purse sits between the blades, shoes among the petals, a cockerel comes to witness…’, digital print on archival watercolor paper with hand-cut and torn elements, fabric, poster board, acrylic gel medium, feathered butterflies, costume jewelry, 110 x 98 x 6 inches, 2019.

Tajh Rust in ‘Vernacular Interior’ at Hales Gallery

Tajh Rust’s portrait of a mom and her daughter embracing on the kitchen floor has a counterpart in a second family picture in which the mother meets our gaze while cradling her child’s head.  The comparison reveals how easy it is to make eye contact with the child vs her assured mother as they occupy private space in a tender moment.  Nevertheless, the girl’s eye becomes the focal point of the painting, highlighting the power of her keen observation.  (On view in ‘Vernacular Interior’ at Hales Gallery in Chelsea through July 20th).

Tajh Rust, Idowu I, oil on PVC, 182.9 x 121.9 cm, 2019.