Palo Alto’s Gallery House invites you to experience “Subversive”, a new show featuring provocative artwork from Magdalena Bogart, Rose Hagan and Robin Stearns. The show runs March 2 through March 28, 2020.
The public is invited to a free reception with the artists on Friday, March 6th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., including live music by Hisai Matsuura. Attendees are encouraged to dress in 1930s fashions.
The United States in 2020 is facing division, partisanship and attacks on civil liberties unimaginable just a few years ago. While life goes on, it does not go on unchanged. We continue to work, spend time with our families and friends, exercise, watch movies and sports, create, and have fun, but we also are aware of current events and how they affect our lives. Each of the artists in this exhibit has channeled their feelings and reactions to the events unfolding around them in their artwork.
Magdalena Bogart’s paintings probe the intricacies and depths of life, visible in the very textural surface of her multi-layered paintings. Some of her paintings reflect current political events (“Fake News”, “Past Present” “ The Future is Us” and “Subversive”), while others contemplate the urge to forget, to party, and experience life to the fullest, (“Party Party”, “A Moment of Beauty” , “Décor and Subversion”).
Rose Hagan’s glass artwork reflects her compulsion to counter sexism, anti-immigrant sentiment, and climate change. Inspired by the call to “rise up” from the musical “Hamilton,” one series of work puts a lens on individuals who took actions viewed as revolutionary, such as Rosa Parks, Colin Kaepernick, and Greta Thunberg. A second series crystalizes the deep strength of women. A third series focuses on climate change, specifically, the warming oceans.
Robin Stearns’s new work questions our definitions of truth and beauty in our increasingly disunified society. These new paintings are an extension of Robin’s classic “cityscrapes,” in which she uses a technique of patterning that emulates collage using a fabric of oil miniatures. Each piece examines corruption and seduction in our current political environment.
Gallery House’s new hours are Sunday through Wednesday 11am-3pm and Thursday through Saturday 10am-6pm. 320 S. California Ave., Palo Alto, CA. (650-326-1668) (Enter through Printer’s Café)