Who are we surrounding our object to us? For Angela Burson, the shirts we wore from the closet in the morning and the drinks we drank in dinner especially attracted insights into personal and family identities.
The Savannah-based artist often starts with old photos and then re-releases of retro fashion, tile patterns and acrylic household items. She tends to lean towards proportion and perspective, thus gaining a surreal style, exacerbating her signature crops and headless characters. The vivid, old-fashioned palette of yellow, light blue and pale dust roses is a feature of mysterious scenes that are full of intrigue.
For example, in “Take Notes” we see two people sitting at the table with fit characters spreading on paper while the other person grabs the olive martini. We are not sure if the notes reflect investigations into illegal events or if the chronicles are more legal (seemingly smaller). There are also evil ropes in “Disconnect” and one of the black rotating phones will surely become the subject of inquiry.
Of course, not all Berson’s paintings seem to attract a bad actor. Her characteristic crop also enlarged a pair of delicate transparent, polka dot socks or slender hands grabbing cocktail glasses. The artist’s recent work, Simulation conditionsdepicting “artificially created a situation that imitates the real world”.
Recurring patterns such as suitcases and beloved pets suggest emancipation and companionship themes, although Berson continues to confuse us: Why, for example, is there an open pill box next to an unattended puppy? What stimulates the cute printed kitten? Although the monks are ambiguous, the paintings of Berson are inconclusive, they prompt us to say, “Question the meaning of all this.”
Simulation conditions On display from September 6 to 27 at Hashimoto contemporary in New York City. Explore more on her website and on Burson on Instagram.
