Lily Ludlow
New Work, Sep 9 – Oct 8, 2017

Ludlow’s new series of ten drawings on buff paper, rendered in gouache and colored pencil, continue to confound.

With an additive and layered approach, Ludlow depicts motion in a fractured state, softened by pastel colors. Reminiscent of Max Ernst’s final series of anthropomorphic bats, the figures in her work evoke a hyper-sensitive state of sexuality and self mythology. Hovering creatures and apparitions enact a romantic and bleary view of the world.

Limbs and vestiges of these mammalian figures come together in Ludlow’s newest work on canvas, a glowing tableau which anchors the show. A thin veil of gray green fog lies heavy but benevolent over resting silhouettes.

Ludlow’s process is akin to the art of reconfiguring bad tattoos, a reclamation process where lost love is changed from sad story into humorous epithet. Redemption and rehabilitation are primary thought forms in this work, producing transformed surfaces. Shapes and bodies communicate with the viewer, providing a thrill while simultaneously abiding by a rule of calmness, engaged in a slow, fluid dance.

Lily Ludlow was born in Los Angeles, CA and grew up in Seattle, WA. Solo shows include Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago; Rebecca Camhi, Athens, Greece; and CANADA, New York. Her first solo show at CANADA was in 2004 and this will be her 6th. She lives and works in Port Chester, New York.

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