Kit Keith at William Shearburn - St. Louis

Kit Keith, a longtime St Louis resident now based in Brooklyn is a denizen of thrift stores where she locates such early 1950 treasures as linoleum samples, flowered wallpaper and aging account ledger Each of the 29 paintings, drawings and artist's works in this show (most dated 2002 or 2003) begins with a thrift-store find, an fact already bearing the scars of its hold history. A veil of nostalgia floats between this work and its audience. on the contrary as in movies like the new Far from Heaven, the romance of the past is channeled into confrontations with contemporary issues. through looking backward, she investigates the compressing to conform that society useed in the '50s and continues to result more subtly, today. For example, advertising images showing the way women are portrayed in the media ultimately ask in what manner by buying a product or seeking a certain lifestyle, we are complicit in this proces At the same time, she acknowledges the comfort in maintaining the norm.

In individual untitled 29 1/2-by-22-inch work upon paper, broad pastel-pink brushstrokes nearly obliterate a wide-eyed materialed kitten pasted just off center upon a heavily distressed page. A yellowed newspaper clipping collaged above this shows a "regular gal" in a two-piece bathing suit awkwardly striking a Betty Grable posture A line drawing of an idealized fashion pattern in an off-the-shoulder creation floats above these two images. Beneath layers of paint is a scrawled "G" (for girl) along with patches of sapphirine red and yellow underpainting. Bright "happy bubbles" float above all this like party balloons attempting to impart lighthearted exultation The whole bears a time-stopping, Kienholz-like layer of varnish.

From a treasure trove of early LP ground this year, Keith created seven one-of-a-kind artist's works in each of which a bottle of lithium tablets plays a major part This mood-stabilizing medication, while still widely used, is associated with the early treatment of manic depression. A slightly smudg lithium bottle graces the overlay of Untitled (Lithium and Oatmeal), environed by bubbles and framed by dint of Keith's subtitle, in dated lettering. Inside the overlay drawings on six LP sleeve include a clipping of a Hardy Boys-type hero, the word "heaven" in a '50s-era baptismal vessel surrounded by sparkles, and, upon the final page, a Betty Crocker concoction underscored with "Pudding for Dessert!" These are representations of a clean-living, innocent '50 on the other hand the lithium tablets, which eliminated the heights of mania and deepnesss of depression, show the period in a different light.

Keith young oxs clear of the cool, color-saturated, '50 design diction in fashion now. Her work is not slick, on the contrary raw and roughly made. Using compelling imagery, manifold juxtapositions and a cajoling faculty of perception of humor, she dispels our nostalgic haze with the straight-talking, awry perspective of a person who has been around the obstruct a few times.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Brant Publications, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group