September 5, 2023 at 4:44 PM
Jordan Ann Craig
Hales
Sharp Tongue Soft Skin
Most gripping title of the shows I’ve seen in general lately.
Showed up for the opening which is the artists debut solo show with the gallery.
Extremely flat and dynamic works with vibrating colors. Not cause it’s vibrant but because they are vibrant against each other and the lines are razor sharp. Ah I think of the title. The artist is in a beautiful outfit that pairs with the work nicely. I skim the paper handout but want to just get some writing out first, less influenced by what I’m reading. Knowing her work is influenced by Northern Cheyenne textiles and beadwork really solidifies the way i see the work and the depth it has, yet I certainly am not an expert.
The room is clattering with sound I almost think I need earplugs from the few shrill enthusiastic voices cutting through the other loud and echoing conversations. The paintings hum so softly in comparison. The colors are warm. And cool.
There are a few that have busy borders containing their insides. Horizontal likes stop before falling off the edges of the work.
Small striations stacked and packed like thread on a spool.
I got thirsty for the bubbles they put out and pull the carbonation through my barely open lips thinking about the texture of it all.
I love how tidy the brush marks are on a finely organized surface. I think of landscape as much as textile. It looks like the brush marks sweep steadily horizontally and vertically but no other direction. And the canvas slightly emerges adding to this perpendicular buzz from the multitude of intersections.
I notice how some of the paint is matte and floats over the other parts.
The act of looking up and down and left and right over these seems carefully thought about. The edges get blurry slightly before clarity at the border that some have, which I mentioned before. The only one with a full border really accomplishes this disorientation, like looking at a map of this city. Or some other map of intertwining energies and the fibers of this universe (to really zoom out).
I notice the sloppy edges of a a painting and feel overjoyed it wasn’t hidden. I’ve always enjoyed an unclean edge. There is something real about it. Some are more contained on the edge but a couple have globs of paint the escaped the face of the canvas.
I take a sec to watch everyone facing inward now and everyone congratulating the artist. Makes me feel like there is infinite amount of purpose in the world.