Hashimoto Contemporary is pleased to present Acts of Observation, a new body of work by Kansas City-based artist Rachel Gregor. Focusing on the artist’s practice of working on paper, these new paintings spotlight a quieter, more meditative part of her practice: painting from direct observation.
Known for her layered and narrative based figuration that blends observation, memory and fantasy, Gregor works with the immediacy of gouache, recording potted plants, figurines and self-portraits. The self-portraits are often painted in front of larger, narrative-based works in progress, creating layers and connecting the various parts of her practice. These works are sites of play, discovery and experimentation, a space where instinct surfaces, later to be folded back into more ambitious compositions.
Gregor strives for visual and emotional honestly, in an attempt to build a more poetic and meditative practice. Through these exercises in mindfulness the composition gives way to intuition, the act of looking becoming its own reward. The images hover between still life, theater and confession, capturing the feeling of being present.
In Acts of Observation, the artist brings together a selection of this rogue and integral work so this aspect of her studio practice can be highlighted on its own terms.
