Katelyn Ledford’s show Pleased as Punch is a delightfully ridiculous jaunt through all methods of painting creation. Her paintings combine trompe l’oeil, actual collaged objects, cartoonish drawing, glitter, fur, buttons, as well as countless other configurations to create what might be considered a material smorgasbord. These combined creations depict images of a sort of adolescent feminine dystopia, showcasing Images of squished baby dolls, burning doll houses, and pink chainlink. The mixture of unapologetically garish use of material and kitschy imagery make for funny, eye-catching work.
To someone who shared a hilariously awkward girly adolescence, I find these works to almost embody a universal truth. I wonder if they are somewhat opaque for people who had a completely different experience of growing up, or if their imagery is enough to impart the specific experience. I think movies and popular culture have oversaturated this sort of story, of an angsty teenage girl’s inner world. I wonder if these works play into that television trope, perhaps even mocking it, or if what viewers respond to is an actual lived reality that these pieces memorialize.
Audrey Doyle
Its exciting to hear that you resonated with the exhibit as much as you did. I would have liked to know more about Katelyn Ledford as an artist and her background, but I don't know how public that information is. I wonder if you and her have any shared adolescent experiences that would explain your connection to her work. I am also interested in more specifics about the exhibit, such as the scale of the work and how the space was organized and if such considerations contributed to the overall feeling you got from the work.
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