Caitlin McCormack: See You All In There

Paradigm Gallery is pleased to present See You All In There, an exhibition of new mixed media works by the Philadelphia-based artist Caitlin McCormack. The exhibition, marking McCormack's fourth solo presentation with the gallery, will open on February 22, and remain on view through April 13, 2019. There will be an opening reception at the gallery on Friday, February 22, from 5:30 to 10pm.

Integrating experimental mediums, including cotton string, vintage fabric, ornate beaded objects and found materials, McCormack's new series of sculptures explore a breadth of personal and public themes, topical issues ranging from privacy and mental health, to social media and the heartbreaking stories resultant of harsh immigration policies.

Less delicate than previous works, her complex sculptural abstractions feature headless torsos, animal-like creatures, anthropomorphic forms, fortress and church-like structures, as well as paintings rendered on books and original sketches.

Illustrating the artist's highly personal visual style, McCormack's see-through lace works epitomize the condition of being observed by the state or disturbed by other people, an outside world capable of inflicting harm. Deftly mining the threats of contemporary society, her skillfully-rendered, skeletal creatures appear isolated and vulnerable, far away from other places or people, looking for a place to hide—solitary, otherworldly figures seeking to protect their privacy.

Inducing feelings of isolation and estrangement, which manifest in a society where there is great suffering and injustice, McCormack's startlingly macabre subject matter serves as a metaphor for the interiority of the individual, particularly the artist herself, and the reproach directed inward from self-accusation.

With dark tropes expressing a grotesque surreality, McCormack's disturbing depictions of death reflect a dystopian vision portending a nightmare, leaving the viewer to experience feelings of unease.

Portraying the fears and anxieties and the suspicions and doubts associated with a lack of security, McCormack's abstracted sculptures, part-human and part-animal, give tangible form to the psychological brutality and overwhelming anxiety of an increasingly disquieting modern world.