River Songs, Michael Childress
Image: Michael Childress, Flow Temple, 2024, Acrylic on canvas
November 15, 2024 - January 25, 2025
Wolfgang Gallery is pleased to present River Songs, a solo exhibition by Michael Childress. This exhibition brings together three distinct bodies of work, presented in conjunction: the ongoing Equivalence Series (2020–present), watercolors from the River Songs series, and new landscape paintings from the Cyclorama series.
A pivotal moment in Childress's practice occurred during the creation of Flow Temple from the Equivalence series, which features a serene river scene. This piece marked a turning point, inspiring Childress to venture out of the studio and into nature, painting en plein air at summer swimming spots, including nude gay beaches along rivers in Western Massachusetts, where he resides. Moved by the beauty, tranquility, and uninhibited enjoyment of the landscape by those around him, Childress developed a series of small landscape paintings, culminating in the River Songs series, comprised of 54 works. The series title draws inspiration from José Esteban Muñoz’s Cruising Utopia, particularly the chapter Just Like Heaven: Queer Utopian Art in the Aesthetic Dimension. In this chapter, Muñoz references Marcuse’s critique of the social emphasis on productive labor, using a queer interpretation of the myths of Narcissus and Orpheus. “Narcissus and Orpheus represent ‘image[s] of joy and fulfillment; the voice which does not command but sings.’” In this way, Childress's watercolors are created in a space of pleasure and leisure, rather than labor.
Following the completion of the River Songs series, Childress returned to his studio with a renewed perspective to begin the Cyclorama series. These abstracted landscapes employ a unique visual approach, using depth and perspective to create a sense of immersion. If viewed in a cylindrical format, the paintings would produce a panoramic effect, reminiscent of a traditional cyclorama. This body of work represents the continued evolution of Childress’s surreal, liminal landscapes, presented en masse.
For all media inquiries, please email anna@wolfganggallery.com.
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Installation shot
Installation shot
