The gallery is thrilled to present Seasons Creep, a two-person exhibition of new painting by Christina Ballantyne and Ish Lipman.
CHRISTINA: These works investigate the innate tendency for longing and pursuit, the longing to fill what seems to be missing in one's life and the pursuit to create what seems to be greater. I explore the emotions surrounding the struggle between satisfaction and wanting more; more hope, more pleasure, less disappointment. While our desires and pursuits drive us to create and push forward, they can be simultaneously detrimental. Life often feels like a balancing act between appreciating one's current state of being and imagining what could be. I work in a process of free association in which I paint the first images that come to mind without judgment and decipher their relationship to one another afterward. In this way, painting acts as a mirror uncovering and reflecting my self-concept, behaviors and recurrent existential questions. This internal investigation leads me to observe ways others exist within this struggle and its manifestation through obsessive behaviors, relationships and spirituality.
ISH: My paintings are an attempt to find moments of stillness amidst constant change. Switching from an internal state of reverie to an external examination of physical occurrences, these modes of observation blur together until both internal and external perceptions lose any semblance of solid truth. In this state, the most banal settings become distorted, uncanny and imbued with melancholy. Yet below their initial discomfort is the hint of a certain silence that cannot be disturbed nor comprehended. The paintings that emerge from these investigations have a similar existence to the moments between sleeping and waking when the world is colored with the aftertaste of a vivid dream. Painting allows me to linger in these moments of longing. The surfaces provide a glimpse of freedom or the possibility of an existence that is not defined by sharp lines, but instead by constant and gentle change.
TOGETHER: Seasons Creep communicates the viewpoints of two artists fascinated by the mysterious inner workings of various psychological states and their effects on our perception. Like landscapes vulnerable to the change of seasons, we too are subject to forces beyond our immediate understanding.
Seasons Creep is on view starting April 1 through May 13, 2022. Please contact to schedule an appointment.
The opening will take place Friday, April 1 from 8-11pm. All are welcome. No appointment required, and masks are optional.
525 South Dearborn | Chicago, IL 60605