This spring, HEDGE Gallery is thrilled to present Pocket Full of Posies, a new series of richly-saturated oil paintings by Katy Richards.

Still lifes and the human figure are subject matter for her recent work, and she reveals them under layers of color and floral patterns, almost as if old wallpaper was being removed from the surface of her canvases.

Symbolism is embedded throughout her paintings, exploring themes of desire, beauty, concealment, death and temporality.

Katy states, “I use repeating imagery like the skull and flower as a reminder of the inevitability of death, and the fragility of life. The flower’s bloom, especially a peony which shows up in multiple works, is so brief. Flowers wither and die, a reminder of our own fate.”

The show’s title comes from a verse from the nursery rhyme “Ring Around the Rosie.” According to folklore, the rhyme refers to the bubonic plague. Posies are small bouquets of flowers one would carry in order to mask the smell of death. The contrast between the playfulness of the rhyme and the heaviness of death becomes a theme that Richards’ paintings embody.

Join us for a preview reception on Wednesday, March 15, or the opening on Friday, March 17.

HEDGE GALLERY
1300 West 78th Street, Suite 200
Cleveland, Ohio 44102
hedgeartgallery.com
Facebook: HEDGE Gallery
216.650.4201

EVENTS:

Katy Richards: Pocket Full of Posies, March 15–April 28. Preview reception 5pm Wednesday, March 15. Opening reception 5pm Friday, April 28.

Matthew Gallager: Solo Exhibit, May 17–June 30