Anya Kavanaugh // Her Good Eye
Curated by Alice Stokes
“The personal nature of the human mind is a peculiar existence. It can manifest itself in many ways – for example, through language and action. But what if I want access to a mind that is not mine? While in Berlin, I have been investigating, exploiting, and considering the possibilities of splitting selfhood vis-à-vis otherness.” Anya Kavanaugh
The beautiful, the toxic and the sharp edge of a palette knife. Her Good Eye is a display of works by American artist Anya Kavanaugh, created in Berlin through 2015.
The human figure is objectified with blank eyes or a cutting direct gaze. The divide between viewer and painting expands. The effect severing yourself from ‘the other’. This confrontation folds back on itself and in turn you watch the painting watching you. You become ‘the other’.
Kavanaugh presents an attitude of beauty through her portraits. This is no soft focus petal. The almost neon palette blends a dualism of allure and repulse. Contextually apt in today’s overstimulated addiction and reverence of ‘the beautiful’. An obsession we carry on our iPhones and claim ownership on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook- like a potted plant domesticating nature.
Exhibition: 10th October – 31st October 2015
