Little Signund, 2006, oil on canvas 20 x16"

 

Hannah Barrett: The Secret Society
October 5 - October 30, 2007
Opening Reception SATURDAY: OCT. 13th 5- 7pm

 

For Immediate Release

 

This October at the Howard Yezerski Gallery, Hannah Barrett pulls back the curtain to reveal a Secret Society. The Secret Society suggests an alternative to the 19th century we are familiar with from history books. Instead of Gibson girls this world is peopled with hermaphrodites and drag kings.

Since 2000 Barrett has been painting invented portraits that are based on collages. Using sections from photographs or paintings, she reassembles these various parts into a new figure of ambiguous gender, pushing conventional male/female roles in portraiture.

Rather than fusing two known subjects to create a hybrid as she has done in the past, the Secret Society hosts a group of totally invented characters. Who these people are and the types of lives they lead are revealed by their facial expressions, gestures, and fashion. The painted details provide just enough information to prompt our imaginations to fill in the rest of the characters stories.

 

For further information please contact Alexis Dunfee at Howard Yezerski Gallery 617.262.0550 Tuesday - Saturday 10-5:30pm