IN THE THICK OF IT

Show Opening:
Saturday, August 10, 2024 · 2p—5p

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“In the Thick of It” began with an impulse to make paintings about the all-consuming rhythms of caretaking, the exuberance and wrestling of both motherhood and childhood and the preeminence of the domestic environment within my life as a ‘stay-at-home’ parent. Emboldened by the Pattern and Decoration movement of the 70’s and 80’s, I limited myself to imagery from within my house (kid drawings, shapes of roasted sweet potatoes, dot stickers, shadows of trees on the nursery wall, blankets torn apart by my dog) as well as my childhood box of fabric samples leftover from my mother’s interior design business. These layered pattern paintings reference the repetition of daily habits but boast structures that are wonky and ever-shifting. Playfulness creeps towards the brink of overwhelm. Texture and flatness duke it out. Humor is interwoven with plaid and toile. Are these squares cut out from a larger whole (wallpaper samples or butcher paper from a toddler’s art desk)? Or perhaps windows into a grander reality (the maximalist experience of parenthood or a child’s brain exploding with wonder)?!

Sara Tuttle

I am drawn towards the mundane, overlooked and often forgotten corners of the world we inhabit. Careful and delicate rendering forces the viewer to contemplate these spaces normally dismissed as eyesores. Can beauty and dignity exist within a pile of weeds or graffiti strewn across a back door? Some of these landscapes sing joyfully as they fulfill their purpose- lights illuminating a road or a tidy alley dotted with gardens and neatly lined trash cans. Other areas groan and buckle under neglect, calling out for revival and care to revisit them once again.

Many of these paintings were made slowly, over a period of several months or even a year, while others are a result of quick sketching. These two ways of working act as foils to one another, allowing for both a careful examination of the subject and a jubilant exploration into mark-making and abstraction. Together, they invite the viewer into considering the strange, wild poetics hidden within our everyday landscapes.

Katy Becker

Katy Becker (b 1991) is a Richmond based artist who received her BFA in 2013 from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Painting and Printmaking department. Since her time in school, Becker’s work has shifted from printmaking abstracted, atmospheric monotypes to detailed and realistic watercolor landscapes, most of which are directly inspired by walks she takes in the city. A wife and mother, she spends her days homemaking and homeschooling whilst stealing away small pockets of time to paint. She enjoys spending time with her husband and children, baking, gardening, entertaining friends and reading.