2016 Catalogue Archive

Idiosyncratic shaped canvases contain the experimental splashes and stains of New York artist Lucy Dodd. Swail (the title is an under-used name for natural or manmade depressions in the earth) features some of the many organic materials often found in Dodd’s work: the minerals hematite and graphite, a dried SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast used in brewing kombucha tea), black lichen, and wild walnut. With all of these materials combined onto one canvas, Dodd’s process is akin to that of an alchemist combining ingredients that have their own individual qualities and symbolic powers. Despite the improvisational quality of the splatters and her highly unusual media, there is a controlled process to Dodd’s painting, visible in her harmonious, layered compositions and evident in the stitched edges of the painting, where Dodd has joined her canvas to black fabric, creating the look of a soft puffy picture frame. Dodd’s paintings make up one element of her art practice, as their presentation and accompanying text point to a larger enigmatic project filled with disorderly exhibition spaces, titles, and press releases that allude to an unrevealed mythical story. Dodd’s paintings and installations have been shown throughout North and South America, including her two exhibitions this spring at the Whitney in New York and The Power Station in Dallas.