By Lisa Taylor
The Dedo Maranville Gallery at Valdosta State University had their third gallery exhibition this semester. The opening reception of Cute and Creepy was October 16, 2017. Artist and curator Carrie Ann Baade held the gallery talk of the Cute and Creepy exhibition. She talked about the seven amazing artists that have created these grotesque, chilling and monstrous artworks. Her outfit went with the theme of the exhibition. Her long black dress looked like a saloon dress from the 1800’s.
The exhibition had a variety of two-dimensional work and three-dimensional work. All the two-dimensional work was displayed all along the walls of the gallery. This gallery exhibition, unlike the other exhibitions, didn’t have any portable walls in it, giving the gallery an open view. Most of the three-dimensional work consisted of sculptures made of metals. These cute and creepy sculptures were displayed all over the gallery, hanging from the ceiling, displayed on the walls and placed on differently sized pedestals. The exhibition had a variety of mediums but majority of them were paintings. The paintings varied in different sizes and colors.
The first artwork that got my attention was an oil painting by Laurie Hogin, Sugar Trilogy 1: Tricks. Immediately when looking at the painting you wonder how something so cute has changed into something so creepy. The main focus and focal point of the painting was a white rabbit sitting on a table. This painting definitely stood out from the other paintings just because of the overpowering use of white and the creepy rabbit. The rabbit has a disturbing feel to it. The eyes of the rabbit are red and the mouth is open showing its teeth. The detail of the rabbit is impeccable, but it is hard to get passed those creepy red eyes that are staring right at you. The table where the rabbit was sitting on had a white table cloth on it, two white bowls and two differently shaped vases. The bowl in the foreground had tiny little pebbles in it. These pebbles had a variety of different colors resembling skittles candy. Some of these pebbles were scattered on top of the table. The background of the painting was a light gradient gray that blended in with all the white objects. The bottom left and right corners of the painting are black. The black gives the painting a very strong contrast. The little colored pebbles give the painting volume. Without these colored pebbles the painting would feel very flat. The Painting has a nice balance even though the primary color is white. The colored pebbles and the strong contrast of the black makes this image pop. Not exactly sure what inspirit the artist, but he succeeded in making something cute and innocent creepy.
Picking my second favorite painting was a bit more difficult. I had three different artworks in mind and all three of them where by the same artist Chet Zar. All three of these paintings were of some type of gruesome creature or monster. The painting I choose was Chet Zar, Chronic Anxiety, oil on painting. The painting has a grotesque and monstrous creature in the foreground. The monster’s head is rather squared shaped then round. The eyes are a solid white without any pupils. The gruesome monster is looking directly at the viewer with those creepy eyes. The creature has a lot of wrinkles and creases in the face. It looks as if the monster is smiling, while showing its teeth. Only part of his upper body is visible in the painting. The creature has this very dark blue and black color to it. The yellow highlighted clouds in the background seem to surround the creature, making a halo effect around it. The moon is in the upper left corner in the background with the night sky. The bright moon and clouds gives this dark painting a nice balance. After seeing multiple works of art by this artist I’m astonished by how creative he is in creating these mysterious creatures. He also uses custom frames for his paintings that usually has something creepy on them. In this painting, the frame is black and in each corner of it is a head of a creature with wings.
I was very pleased with the Cute and Creepy Exhibition. The overall presentation of this exhibition was very unified and went along with the theme of the gallery. It is amazing that seven different artists could create such a unified space. This exhibition was very unique and creative. I believe creating these gruesome and grisly monsters takes a lot of imagination. The Dedo Maranville Gallery always has a vast variety of exhibitions.
Lisa Taylor is majoring in Art Education at Valdosta State University and is originally from Kaiserslautern, Germany. Lisa is focusing on Painting and Photography. She plans to become an Art Teacher.