Review

A review of Hardcore Painting: Confessions and Premonitions­

Jessie Fisher, "Death and the Maiden," oil on linen, 2011. Image: photo Tara Kloeppel

Greenlease Gallery
Kansas City, Missouri
February 11 — March 19, 2011

Dreams are said to be reflections of the subconscious mind at work. They are capable of revealing our subjugated fears and desires, hopes for the future, and muddled understanding of the past. In Hardcore Painting, the work of Julie Farstad and Jessie Fisher, both Kansas City Art Institute faculty members, incandescently transfers the subliminal images of the female psyche to a two-dimensional plane.

The result is a whimsical 360-degree view of womanhood. Girlhood cliques, being crowned the homecoming queen, sexual exploration, and the fear of growing old all come into play in the exhibition. Despite both artists' presenting a decidedly female point of view, their perspectives couldn’t vary more.

Julie Farstad, "There's a Big Hole in the Little Prairie," oil on clayboard, 2006. Image: photo Tara Kloeppel

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Julie Farstad, "Stunt Girl's Sweet Reward," oil on clayboard, 2006. Image: photo Tara Kloeppel

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Julie Farstad, "She Wants Inside," oil on clayboard, 2009. Image: photo Tara Kloeppel

Julie Farstad, "Princess," oil and rhinestones on clayboard, 10" x 8", 2009. Image: courtesy of the artist

Farstad's paintings show the guilt-ridden nightmares of a woman seeking to understand her girlish adolescence. As she dreams, memories are pieced together to create a narrative where the lines of innocent childish curiosity and ill-meaning adult behavior are blurred. Using Chucky-esque dolls and the garish candy colors so often associated with youth, Farstad cheekily sheds light on the dark underbelly of girly sleepovers and princess parties.

In She Wants Inside, three girls are huddled some distance from a house. The title alone is suggestive of the possible innuendos and implications of the situation, but that is not the sole concern for either Farstad or the viewer. The more complex question is the role we each assume in the painting. Is this vision indicative of the remorse of the young girl with her head up the other’s skirt? Or is this a guilty confession of pleasure experienced for the first time in a most unpredicted way?

Multiplicity is again seen in Princess. At first glance, the painting seems to be a straightforward presentation of the Disney-princess phenomena that leads to many a girl’s wish to grow up and live happily ever after. On second inspection, however, a key aspect keeps us from completely adhering to our original assumption — the little doll’s eyes are closed. This isn’t an image of wide-eyed enthusiasm for the bejeweled crown on her head; the doll’s closed eyes seem to indicate an unwillingness or unworthiness to bear the weight of the piece adorning her head.

If Farstad’s works aim to highlight the unpleasant dramas of the past, Jessie Fisher’s paintings seek to understand the unknowns of the future.

Jessie Fisher, "Scott with Beaver Skull," oil on linen, 2011. Image: photo Tara Kloeppel

Invoking a style reminiscent of the old masters, Fisher paints idealized figures in surreal settings. The works offer glimpses into a world that has never actually existed but nevertheless provides portents to conditions that may one day be realized. The subdued colors infused with metallic hues contribute to the sensation of an other-worldly daydream concocted from the magical spirits within.

One of the most mythical of the pieces included in the exhibition is Scott with Beaver Skull, which is the first piece one encounters upon entering the gallery and serves as a synecdoche for the remainder of Fisher’s paintings. After I conducted a bit of light-hearted research, the importance of understanding the beaver skull became paramount. According to folklore, dreaming of a beaver encourages the dreamer to believe in the vision, and to organize life according to the dream. If this is the intended meaning of Fisher’s opening piece, I can’t imagine a more graceful introduction to her exhibition. She invites the viewer to step into her daydreams with her and trust what they see.

Jessie Fisher, "Silenus Figure with Double Valentine," oil on linen, 2010. Image: photo Tara Kloeppel

Jessie Fisher, "Self Portrait with Red Dress," oil on linen, 2011. Image: photo Tara Kloeppel

The subject of trust is also carried into Death and the Maiden. In the painting, Fisher tackles our inevitable grappling with the aging and dying. A seeming self-portrait of Fisher is positioned across from the skeleton that gently caresses her cheek. The blooming flowers that fall from her hand indicate death’s unrelenting, indiscriminate task of stripping youth and beauty from all things. The woman gazes with indifference; she knows she must age; she knows she must die. The effect of the painting inspires anything but indifference, however. Fisher has rendered this unseemly circumstance elegantly and with the intention of showcasing the beauty inherent in our shared doomed future.

In essence, Hardcore Painting seeks to juxtapose the hardcore realities of our imaginations: they are dirty, beautiful, embarrassing, and enlightening. Farstad’s and Fisher’s paintings have provided the duality that would not have been possible otherwise. The exhibition is a fantastic testimony to the power of our minds not only to inform the present, but also to reshape the past and mold the future.

-re-

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