new paintings
Location: 1845 Levee #100; Dallas, TX 75207
Holly Johnson Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of, Michelle Mackey: Double Take, an exhibition of new paintings that explore dream like landscapes in relationship to time and memory. A reception will be held Saturday, June 24th from 5 to 8 pm. This exhibition marks the artists’ second solo show with the Dallas gallery it continues through August 19.
Within Mackey’s art there is a palpable sense of multi-dimensionality and spatial transference — where settings and imagery fragment and converge. She uses light and its power to confuse structural logic, so that these paintings suspend between the known and the unknown. Michelle Mackey: Double Take reveals the power of the unexpected in these compelling and complex visions.
Mackey approaches her work in a physical way - and it shows. The works are tactile, with textures created by layering copious amounts of joint compound on thick wooden panels. The surfaces are then sanded, slicked with shellac, wiped off with wet rags, realized with vinyl paint, and often all over again. The paintings in Double Take have layers and traces of alterations that are a consistent part of her oeuvre, but there is a circular motion within these works that spin the viewer into a new atmosphere. This circular movement along with a keyed-up color palette invites the viewer to scrutinize this glowing - almost fluorescent terrain.
The artist received a Master of Fine Art degree from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY (1999) and a Bachelors of Arts degree from Furman University, Greenville, SC (1997). She has studied in Cortona, Italy and Taos, NM for extended periods, and has been a resident at the Vermont Studio Center and 100W Corsicana, Corsicana, TX. She currently divides her time between Brooklyn, NY and Dallas, TX. When in New York she works as a scenic painter - heavily influencing her interest in the power of fake and real environments. When in Dallas she has taught painting, drawing and foundations at Southern Methodist University and the University of North Texas.
Throughout the last decade Mackey’s works have been included in solo exhibitions in Berlin, New York City, and Dallas, as well as group exhibitions including Making the Future, David & Schweitzer Contemporary, Brooklyn, NY (2016), Through the Veil of the Soul, curated by Dominick Lombardi, Galerie Protégé, New York, NY (2016) Anamnesis, Seton Hall University, Newark, NJ (2014), Construct: Abstract, Three Painters, Texas Women's University, Denton, TX (2014), Fresh Tracks, University of Dallas, Dallas, TX (2013), 5Points West, Binder Fine Arts, Marfa, TX (2012), and Afflicted Powers, Texas Biennial: Free Museum of Dallas, Dallas, TX (2011).
Holly Johnson Gallery is located at 1845 Levee Street #100 in Dallas’ Design District. Gallery hours are 11 to 5, Tuesday - Saturday. For information call 214-369-0169, or email info@hollyjohnsongallery.com, or visit www.hollyjohnsongallery.com.
