Thinkspace gallery in Los Angeles is preparing for a December 11 exhibition that includes new works by Jesse Hotchkiss.
Check out a sneak peek of the exhibit, “Learning to Fall,” but also take a minute to see the gorgeous paintings up on the artist’s website.
Divided into four series—“Air,” “Land” “Love Lump” and “Water”—the paintings are delicate and dreamy, even though at times a subtle nightmarish feeling comes through: two frail feet sticking up out of the ground, the limp hand of a very small child led, or maybe crushed by, the hand of someone much larger. Spindly, gnomish characters fit right into the lush backdrop of nature, but they are also sometimes tangled in it completely or buried beneath it, awaiting rescue.
My favorite series is “Water,” with all its floating lilies, slow-floating turtles and not-so-subtle sexuality. The feeling of surrender washes over everything—a relaxing if daunting position to be in. But Hotchkiss seems to imply that falling, sinking, even being buried, might be just another way to reach something higher.
