BUTTER projects is pleased to present “THEM”, a group show featuring three Detroit-based artists working in painting, photography, and sculpture. “THEM” is loosely framed around portraiture, commonly defined as a representation or likeness of a specific individual, however it holds the ability to do so much more. The exhibiting artists invite us to delve past the surface into the intimacies, idiosyncrasies, and histories that lie beneath. Obscured or displaced from its traditional context, the presented forms create a new dialogue that leads us back to ourselves through found connections. Whether the subject or object, looking or being looked at, we are THEM.
William Irving Singer (b.1985 - Detroit, MI) references historic paintings as a starting point from which he breaks down the figure to near abstraction. Alongside the brightly coloured large scale paintings Singer is known for, “THEM” highlights a series of gestural studies pulled together in a disjointed narrative. Singer received his MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design, and recently completed a residency at Red Bull House of Art in Detroit’s Eastern Market.
Lauren Kalman (b. 1980 - Cleveland Heights, OH) combines the practice of contemporary craft, sculpture, photography, video, installation, and performance. Selections from two bodies of work will be on display including a new series created at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. Both works investigate the body through adornment and masking of forms, pointing to historical, political, and social contexts as it relates to sex, gender, power, pleasure, and beauty. Kalman received her MFA from Ohio State University and her work has been widely exhibited and published.
Kat Burdine (b. 1986 - St. Paul, MN) is a mixed media artist with a focus on print and installation. Hidden in corners and perched on gallery furniture, the ongoing sculptural series titled “Strays” find their home at Butter. The series came from the artist’s fascination by the representation and misrepresentation of marginalized people and their environments. Burdine’s anthropomorphic wood carved dogs challenge human expectation and acceptance. Burdine received her MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and is currently working out of Talking Dolls, Detroit.
During the run of the exhibition, Butter Projects will hold open hours Saturdays and Sundays from 1-3pm. Additional hours can be made by appointment, to schedule, email butter.projects@gmail.com
