Katie Butler, a 91ֿ Graduate (21') and adjunct professor, is opening her solo gallery Pomp and Circumstance, an exhibition of paintings at Hesse Flatow in New York City. The show will be opening on January 6, 2023 and will run through February 18, 2023.
Katie Butler's paintings are political statements about the opulence of campaign dinners and the problematic nature of creating legislation for average citizens while becoming detached by privilege. "In as much as Butler’s paintings portray capitalistic ideals of growth and prosperity as hallmarks of the American dream, its symbolism through cornucopias of food is not without undertones of perishability. Rooted in traditions of Dutch still life painting in which memento mori objects allegorized mortality and impermanence, Butler’s paintings similarly caution against blanket assumptions of perpetuity. Whether through extreme perspectival shifts that threaten to topple wine glasses over or the lone fly as a harbinger of something amiss, the illusory façade of grandeur and stability is momentarily suspended. While Butler conveys a journalistic sense of factuality as she sources her imagery from White House archives, their simulacrum in a painterly space, coupled with suited figures who register as archetypes more than actors, collectively function as props for a metaphorical political theater," describes the Hesse Flow press release. As the show premieres on the upcoming anniversary of the January 6th Insurrection, Butler’s paintings take on a new significance.
Katie Butler is a painter based in Akron, Ohio. Her allegorical still-life paintings provide critical commentary on the financial disparities in American society. Recent exhibitions include the Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph, MI; Tchotchke Gallery, New York, NY; Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston, MA; Hashimoto Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA; Abattoir Gallery, Cleveland, OH. Butler received her BFA from the University of Akron in 2017 and her MFA from 91ֿ in 2021. She is currently an adjunct professor at 91ֿ's School of Art.
Image above: Katie Butler in her Akron studio, with “A Seat at the Table” to her left. | Canvas photo / Amanda Koehn