"Im With Stupid"

A close friend of mine, Seth Goodman, is having an opening for a new series of work he completed during a six-week residency tomorrow night, Friday July 29th at 245 Varet St (3rd floor) from 6 - 9 pm in Bushwick off the Morgan L stop.  The show will be followed by a rooftop party so bring some beer, brown liquor, or whatever and check out these paintings.  If you can't make it the gallery will be open Saturday from noon to six.  Maybe don't eat right before you show up though.  See below "However repulsing or depressing."  While repulsion may threaten to overwhelm the viewer, seriously these are hard to stare into, these are made of the stuff that goes viral on YouTube, you can't avert your eyes.  The operative word being viral here.

Artist's Statement:

The paintings shown in the exhibition “I’m With Stupid” examine issues relating to American social class by carving into the lowest socioeconomic rungs to mine for imagery and attitude. Extreme bodily references are meant to elevate the commonplace cultural thirsting for sex and violence to a level that tests the viewer’s tolerance to digest the interests and way of life of America’s underclass. 

The general folly and predicaments of the painted characters are often birthed from motifs and sayings printed on novelty or lowbrow tee shirts.  The quips then explode to take over the character’s space asking one to more deeply consider the meaning of the text that loudly projects, full-frontal, to all passers-by.

Everything depicted in the work exists in some form in our cultural sphere, however repulsive or depressing it may be.  Ultimately, the paintings are asking the viewer how they relate to these truths and what it means if they must turn away.

-Seth Goodman, 2010