Independent 20th Century 2024

Jane Lombard Gallery returns to Independent 20th Century with a solo presentation of works by Squeak Carnwath. Focusing on Carnwath’s rich visual vocabulary and continuity of style, the exhibited works explore the medium of paint as a stand-in for the human experience. Carnwath’s paintings require attention and thought; recognizable shapes and symbols amplify the written words on the canvas, forming a catalog of her thoughts and daily life. As she layers, carves, and scrawls, her mark-making takes on the role of scars or blemishes, their uniqueness serving as evidence of their own genealogy and history. The repetition of her visual motifs extends beyond painting into her accompanying cigar-box sculptures. Functioning as hybrids of sculpture and painting, these works use paint as a type of diary, recording the evidence of her actions, thoughts and ideas. Likening her iconography and messages to anonymous notes scrawled upon the wall of a public bathroom, Carnwath’s work is inherently intimate yet open to everyone.