ISSUED: 28 October 2022
MEDIA CONTACT: Dana Costa
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University’s Phase 2 Gallery is hosting a mixed-media exhibit by Maryland-based artist Caitlin Gill from November 9-January 20, 2023. A reception is scheduled for Thursday, November 17, from 4-6 p.m. in the Gallery. The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public.
Titled “Fowl Play,” Gill’s exhibition examines the patriarchy, the male gaze, and gender through portraits of birds. These distressed avians act as a personal narrative that reflects the artist’s identity. Each fowl is a self-portrait and aims to unpack Gill’s attempts to unlearn patriarchal archetypes surrounding beauty, femininity, love, gender roles, intimacy, and worth. Gill explains that cock fighting was a significant inspiration for this body of work.
By utilizing craft materials such as lace, pressed flowers, and other materials, Gill’s work explores the divergence between craft and fine art and the implicit misogyny in the distinction between the two. Her work is labor intensive and acknowledges the invisibility of female labor in the home and marriage and the lack of value inferred in “women’s work.” By evoking ideas of discomfort and repulsion, she encourages viewers to engage in the inherent violence exercised by the feminine construct.
Gill holds a Bachelor of Arts in drawing and painting from Towson University and a Master of Fine Arts in curatorial practice and art criticism from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Canada.
The Phaze 2 Gallery is open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 6-8 p.m. or by appointment. For more information, visit the Phaze 2 Gallery webpage.
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