The primary thought I had after I learn that the title of this present was Sidewalk Chalk was simply the thought of a summer season and childhood. Chalk is innocent however formative. It is a software of creativeness and expression, remodeling bizarre concrete into momentary canvases for vibrant drawings, video games, and messages. To me, sidewalk chalk represents spontaneity and communal artwork, the place kids and adults can collaborate in crafting fleeting masterpieces which can be washed away however by no means forgotten. It is in regards to the pleasure of creation with out the stress of permanence, celebrating the liberty to experiment, play, and join with others in shared public areas.
And that brings me to Katherine Bernhardt, who opened the brand new solo present at David Zwirner in LA together with her uncooked mash-ups of pop cultural iconography. She paints Garfield, ET, Cookie Monster with a childhood marvel, enlarging their personas to double human measurement, like doubling down the imprint these cartoon characters have had on our lives. Marshmallows and sticks of butter are right here, too. There’s a sense of pleasure and in addition an nearly insanity of tradition, an depth of cartoon imagery that’s surreal and nearly twistingly weird. After college cartoons had been an acceleration of adrenaline that wasn’t discovered within the classroom, a sugar-fueled escape that actually bought you sugar. Bernhardt paints butter like it’s as important to our recollections as Sesame Avenue. It is irreverent and it is pop. —Evan Pricco
