What constitutes feminine identity? “Girls Night Out: Femininity as Masquerade” brings together work by seven young artists that deals with the idea of womanliness in terms of its accoutrements, its trappings. Often using decorative patterns and images of domesticity, these artists confront the compelling, repugnant and prosaic traits associated with the gender, charting a landscape of considered ambivalence toward the topic of femininity.
Marilyn Minter’s pink-and-blue gender-coded paintings comment on the either/or status of sexual identity, while Alison Saar’s vibrant figures treat identity as a fluid cultural hybrid. In Rona Pondick’s sculpture, the allure of oversized satin pillows is sullied by the dead weight of lead. Tina Potter offers stark and startling glimpses of gruesome histories hidden on the jewel-like surface of her canvases. Sifting through literary and art history, Susan Silas raises questions about the fictional status of femininity. Meg Cranston’s multi-media compositions call attention to gender-identified notions embedded in everyday objects. Aimee Rankin rounds out the exhibition with her signature diorama/peep-show boxes, elaborating on the mythic entanglements of the female gender.