Avery Singer
Expressionism (study)
Expressionism (study)
2020 Acrylic on canvas stretched over wood panel 102.2 x 114.9 x 5.3 cm / 40 ¼ x 45 ¼ x 2 ⅛ in
Earlier this year, Avery Singer began creating a digitalized universe in which she is able to reconstruct and redefine the traditional modes of representation and painterly expressionism. In her fastidiously rendered world, made to resemble a stereotypical hipster bar in New York, unexpected personages such as Maximilien de Robespierre are present; what results is a transformative conflation of history and contemporary iconography.
Through the re-appropriation of historical figures such as Robespierre within this specific dive bar, Singer reshapes the narrative of the French revolutionary and outlaw to exist in her modern portrayal. For the artist, Robespierre becomes an unconscious sublimation of political and social frustrations, where the imaginary realm of the 3D software becomes a hyper-violent fantasy against the backdrop of both a ruthless historical figure from western history and a banalized contemporary social setting.
The bar itself is named after the resident exotic bird who relentlessly defecates all over the establishment. By examining the idea of the bird's defecation through the lens of Sigmund Freud's theory of anal fixation, what comes into focus is the satirical romanticization of the application of thick paint as a type of fetish, akin to the enjoyment of scat play. In this recent study, his gesture and subsequent marks in Singer's realm are perceived as painterly strokes and splatters, implicitly mimicking and providing the familiar impasto of expressionist paintings.
Singer continues to explore the bar's surroundings in an evolving series of works that highlight the complex nature of both the digital layering and aesthetic abstraction that exist throughout her work. As we follow the development of the scenery, the Robespierre figure's face becomes increasingly bloodied, battered, and scarred with Wojak memes.
On view in Southampton
Our new private viewing space is now open in the Village of Southampton, on the South Fork of Long Island, New York, presenting key works by artists in our program, including Ellen Gallagher, Nicole Eisenman, Simone Leigh, and others. ‘Expressionism (study)’ by Avery Singer can be viewed at the gallery by appointment from Tuesday to Sunday, between the hours of 11 am and 6 pm EST.