Pristinely fabricated forms combined with pop culture images and artifacts characterize much of Kathryn Andrews work. In this beautifully crafted, but thoroughly unsettling work, Andrews uses an aluminum frame to encase (and display) pills, beans, and cigarettes in the upper section and an image of a clown below. Here, the clown is removed from the realm of children’s entertainment, and the reality of his life as an adult is thrust at the viewer through his droopy gaze, wig cap (minus the wig), smeared make-up, and the food and drugs hovering above his head. The work becomes not just a commentary on the role of the clown as a cultural symbol, but offers us a way to think about perception, identity, and the nature of what is for show and what must be hidden. Andrews lives and works in Los Angeles. In 2013, she was the subject of a solo exhibition at Museum Ludwig, Cologne. Her work has been included in exhibitions at Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; ICA, Philadelphia; CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco; MoCA, North Miami; and MoCA, Los Angeles.
photo credit: fredrik nilsen