As a painting buff that I am and a fan of backs of canvases, I was eagerly waiting for Katelyn Ledford solo Verso to open at Fredericks & Freiser. And now that the exhibition is up and I can treat my peepers to photos of the paintings, I’m wondering if I was more excited about seeing them because of how they’re painted, or if it’s more because of all the nerdy painting references in them?
It might feel intimidating for a young artist to dip their toes into the well-traveled waters of trompe l’oeil reverse-paintings, but Ledford cannonballed it! Talking about the skill or technique, the Texas-born artist has these on lock for quite a while now (I remember the first time I saw her mind-boggling paintings in a miniature gallery model back in the pandemic). There’s an element of fun, there’s knowledge, and there’s technique. And the latter has bloomed to an outstanding level! These new paintings are cleverly filled with elements that not only contribute to the subject matter but also allow her to flex her skills. Different types, shades, and cuts of wood (grain), a variety of fabrics (with their distinct surfaces), lace, rope, screws, and a whole spectrum of stains, blemishes, molds, scratches, and dents that mutate into recognizable forms.
And once there, they reveal countless references to both the history of painting and the unhinged, volatile, but enticing painter’s life. Quoting or nodding to some of the greatest there ever were, reinventing well-known concepts, and commenting on perhaps questionable traditions, these paintings, though often sceneless, pack a lot. Essentially portraying stretcher bars of all sorts, Ledford smoothly blends the celebrated, romantic history and the present joy and struggle. This is how the archetypal image of “repoussoir” curtains meets a contemporary tool that is masking tape, or her aprons become altars, affirmation signs, as well as literal imprints of what it’s like to be an artist. In this meta-painting sphere, the recurring motif of clown or harlequin makeup is a playful yet sincere way to convey the detachment between the studio and the outside world.