BRAD SPENCE “(figs.)”

January 8 - February 12, 2011

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 8 / 5:00 - 7:00 pm

Shoshana Wayne Gallery is pleased to open the 2011-year with a solo show of new paintings by Brad Spence.

The exhibition titled (figs.) features a series of new paintings reminiscent of a cinematic “dream sequence.”  This exhibition is the culmination of the artist’s decade long exploration of the field of psychology, and the various institutions that attempt to rationally frame the human psyche.

The hazy, soft-focus paintings evoke a journey into the murky regions of the unconscious.  Created with an airbrush, the works present themselves as illustrations, or evidence, as suggested by the title (figs.), for an unnamed text or crime, which eludes the viewer.

In a procession of disconnected images, with settings that shift from the domestic to the institutional, and symbols that appear pregnant with meaning, the feeling of disorientation gives way to a sense of terminal logic.

In grappling with the ultimate uncertain terrain of the unconscious, the artist draws upon a spectrum of references that include textbook Freudian psychoanalysis, clinical psychology, and Hollywood film, as well as healthy doses of personal confession.

Brad Spence has exhibited extensively in Los Angeles including an exhibition at The University Art Museum in Long Beach, CA; as well as exhibited world wide in Norway, Istanbul, Turkey, New York, NY, Paris, France and Germany.  This exhibition is accompanied by a 60-page catalogue with essay by Erik Frydenborg.

For more information please contact Marichris Ty at marichris@shoshanawayne.com