Continuing through January 15, 2018
Sherry Karver is a chronicler of humanity, both visually and through the intricate text that she writes onto her photo-collages. Looking at her depictions of crowd scenes, created with photography, painting, digital alteration and resin, and spending time reading her detailed texts, revealing the presumed inner thoughts of her characters, can feel deliciously voyeuristic. Karver, who titles this exhibition “True Story” is also a traveler and people watcher, spending long hours in train stations, shopping centers and museums throughout the U.S. and foreign capitals. While observing crowds of often self-obsessed individuals, she takes black and white photos of them, which become primary source material. She alters the photos, adding color, details and shadows, and blurring some images. She then overlays detailed, handwritten texts onto the individuals' bodies, revealing their supposed inner thoughts.
Onto a portrayal of a middle aged man in “Mystic Moments,” the text reads, “Still dreams of riding in the Rose Bowl parade, learning Italian, going swimming with dolphins and finding his soulmate someday.” The text superimposed onto a young woman in the same piece reads, “College student majoring in anything her parents disapprove of, decided to rebel after being voted most likely to live in the suburbs. Now only dates tough guys with tattoos...”
Karver mounts the completed, enhanced photos onto panel, and laboriously adds resin, giving them a glossy, reflective surface that enables us to see ourselves in the collages. When drawn into work, with titles, “Like There’s No Tomorrow,” “Mingling in the Light,” “At the Edge of Perception,” “Revolving Door” and “Introspection,” we are naturally enticed to read these characters’ inner thoughts. These encompass and activate a range of emotions, including longing, hoping, regretting and embracing
