The Sun Hung Low or A Question Loomed: A Solo Exhibition By Morgan Mandalay @ Everybody In Chicago

A snake made of bottle caps wraps around itself on the floor. Trees grow, overgrow, burn, and grow again. And some kind of mouse created a hole in our newly-built drywall (this may or may not be related to the snake).

It’s hard to tell if the sun is rising or setting. You might come to a conclusion based on the time of day, the temperature outside, your political views, or something else. Whatever the case, you’re looking at some paintings and not the sun itself. This is probably a good thing.

The Sun Hung Low or A Question Loomed is on view through September 1 @ Everybody 1722 N Western Avenue, Chicago. photographs courtesy of the gallery

Bad Sin Frutas: Read Our Interview of Painter Morgan Mandalay On The Occasion Of His Solo Exhibition @ Klowden Mann in Los Angeles →

Are you staring directly into the mouth of the beast, or are you indeed sitting inside said mouth, observing the surreal landscape below? This is just one of the many visual homonyms that are ever-present in the works of Morgan Mandalay. For his first solo exhibition at Klowden Mann in Los Angeles, the Chicago-based artist has painted worlds that are rife with reference to human figuration, though only vaguely, in the form of phantom hands clutching at tree branches, or humanoid eyeballs peeking through leaves. Bad Sin Frutas tells a story of exile using the memetic power of the Garden of Eden as a template for processing the Mandalay family’s exile from Cuba, and it does so in a time of global refugee crises. Click here to read more.

Morgan Mandalay's 'Holy Holy Holy' @ Catbox Contemporary In New York

Holy Holy Holy is an exhibition of new work by Morgan Mandalay. Using the “Book of Tobit” (a Catholic story centering around the exorcising of demons) as a starting point, Mandalay generates a  visual narrative about class, populism, and agency through the lens of 18th century painting. The walls of the gallery are painted a pale pink, meant to reference the Timken Museum of Art, a small museum in San Diego Mandalay used to frequent because of its free entry for the public and prominent collection of Rococo paintings. Here he uses the sentimentality of the setting to help conjure the anarchistic energy latent in painting’s history.

Catbox Contemporary is an appointment-only art gallery housed in the Ridgemont apartment of artist/founder, Philip Hinge. Occupying two catboxes within Hinge’s cat tree, the space allows artists to display full solo exhibitions at miniature scale and sell small works at affordable prices. Holy Holy Holy is on view through October 14, make your appointment now by DMing @CatboxContemporary. photographs courtesy of Catbox Contemporary