Thu 5/28 @ 5:30-7:30PM

In HEDGE Gallery’s next show, Things That Ache Softly, three painters explore ideas around impermanence and continual change, each from the point of view of their own lives and experiences.

Maeve Billings is queer, nonbinary artist who has developed their own take on the classic momento mori painting. They share, “To be a queer, non-binary person today means to feel a threat to autonomy over my own flesh. My paintings explore this anxiety. I want the paintings to be beautiful, and, in the same breath, unsettle the viewer with imagery ranging from reverent to gory. I am interested in that fragile dynamic between attraction and repulsion.”

Madison Mayle grew up in Appalachia which influences her images of biological forms, although they don’t depict any particular place. “The work communicates a sense of quietude and inherited intimacy, where the landscape is not something observed from afar, but something that holds, shapes, and embodies the viewer,” she says.

And Katy Richards’ recent oil and watercolor paintings are a reflection ephemeral nature of life, showing floral bouquets that are in various stage of decay. “Through their gradual decay, they encourage us to value the moments we have, finding beauty in the continuous process of transformation, loss, and renewal,” says Richards.

The show closes May 30 but before it does, you can see the work and learn more when the gallery hosts an artist talk on Thursday May 28. It’s free and open to all.

hedgeartgallery/things-that-ache-softly