The Concurrence of Things, LeMieux Galleries, New Orleans, October 2017
The Concurrence of Things, Kathryn Hunter
In this recent work, multiple materials are utilized, each displaying a color, a mark, a texture that explores the subject through symbolism and visual narration. Red wool may touch emotion; a stitch may connect to nostalgia; shiny steel may present a pattern. In The Concurrence of Things, people and animals are characters used to reflect on violence and pacification, truth and deception, cultural games and idolization, death and life joined together.
This work ponders on patriotism, police brutality, protest, inequity, injustice, violence, people harming other people and the world around them, luck and also hope. The bear is here multiple times and in this work she is a character, the largest predator, the most powerful, yet vulnerable. The dog is a guardian of the spirit, the keeper of guns. The birds in "Can't Breathe" are Chimney Swifts, symbolizing community, collaboration, and harmony. Masks hide the faces of people we don't want to truly see. Perhaps the answers snake through the mysticism we create to survive. Perhaps the all seeing eye and the phases of the moon hold the story.