Cecilia Roberts / Jaclyn Brown / Al Benkin

The Nuances of Storytelling

February 17 - March 7, 2010

Tribes Gallery

285 E 3rd St. #2

New York, NY 10009

      Three Brooklynites, expatriates from the purgatory of rural life, present a body of work – The Nuances of Storytelling. Their artwork focuses on personal experiences with gender, relationships, and impressions of culture; infused with imagination, humor and sometimes satirical undertones. They have three different yet interweaving subversions of narrative figurative painting.

Roberts’ psychological portraits keep record of different pockets of current culture, often fixating on elements of the mundane, considering fatalistically the disposability of objects in our culture.

Brown’s socially-aware surreal narratives are vivid and often expressed in motion and repetition.  Her allegorical tales transgress social norms, presenting characters that embody elements of Brown’s dreams, thoughts and reflections.  

Benkin’s surreal assemblages are full of ambiguity and satire. Her richly personal, colorful stories are a cultural response to her own experiences.  They include elements of animistic fetishism, iconography and nostalgia.