Kayo Gallery’s offering this month, Seeing Without Knowing, brings together three artists— Brian Patterson, Wren Ross and Stephanie Toland—and delivers a packed show.
Ross’ works on paper are dainty, strange and dazzling, covered in text that is hand written and backwards and that alludes to a vague narrative or stream of consciousness. The show’s title comes from this recent work, which is rooted in her fascination with a medical study examining early cataract surgery. The concept of new vision, unfettered by any comprehension or preconceived ideas of the visual world, is what she explores, and it does feel like you are looking out from someone else’s eyes or a mirror. The drawings are intimate, and her bold approach to negative space is effectively exercised in her tiny cut-out installation on the back wall.
Taking a distinct new direction, Patterson unveils work that has been his focus for the past several months—a sizeable collection of objects chopped up, reconfigured and dipped in latex paint—that draw comparisons between suburban life, child’s play and warfare. He proposes that these elements are dangerously similar, despite being seemingly disparate. His window installation is a very astute use of the storefront space— extraordinarily simple, and a nice break from the Bosch-esque table of figurines. There is a single horse’s head, dipped in black paint, which hangs next to a TV monitor playing one of his textural video works. When viewed from inside, the angled window creates a symmetrical composition that is brilliant, and connects back to Ross’ work with its mirror effect.
Seeing Without Knowing @ Kayo Gallery, 177 E. Broadway, 801-532-0080, through Feb. 16. KayoGallery.com