Lena McCarthy & Linda Nagaoka: Magic

The exhibition includes magical paintings by Lena McCarthy and Linda Nagaoka, glitter Rorschach blots from OH Projects, and colored pencil emoji drawings by Anna Von Mertens.

These artists expand reality with their personal explorations of the meaning of magic.

Lena McCarthy’s paintings are reminiscent of the vibrant, folk art Hex Paintings seen on Pennsylvania Dutch barns. Used for protection and to bring good luck, these familiar symbols transcend the decorative. McCarthy’s works do that as well. Her combination of pretty and dank colors reinforces the mixing of floral and natural images with darker, mystical symbols.

Anna Von Mertens's iconic, colored pencil emojis explore the question of what is real and what is illusory. She takes the art of Prismacolor to an entirely new level as she replicates text messages taken from her phone . . .a device she considers to be a magical object.

Linda Nagaoka is a Japanese-American multidisciplinary artist whose work combines her interest in natural forms with her Asian heritage, the pop-graphic sensibilities of growing up in Southern California, and a transplanted life in New York City. Nagaoka’s work shifts among ceramics, painting, works on paper, and sometimes a performance. Her recent paintings embrace a magical realism that suggests Charles Burchfield with a touch of LSD.
Memories, observations, and a sense of wonder all form my feminine, fantasy landscapes.       

OH Projects is the name Kathleen O’Hara uses as an umbrella to include her work in diverse media as well as her curatorial projects. The Glitter Rorschachs included in this exhibition are recent examples of a body of work that she has been working on for several years. She sees magic in the way these pieces transform materials and subject matter, as well as in how they engage viewers.