Purple Art
[April 12 2022]
“Manslaughter,” by Olivia Sterling at Guts Gallery, London
Manslaughter by Olivia Sterling sees the young British painter bring her playful figuration to a gruesome new tea party. Look once, and it’s a scarlet food fight of red wine and tomatoes, but stare closer, and any innocent bawdiness swiftly disappears for something more sinister – a plethora of art historical references inverted into a raucous manhunt, with a corpse of cake (featuring gummy candy nipples) at the heart of proceedings. From the bare buttocks of a white male, labeled for ownership and consumption, to a hacked-off and manacled hand, Sterling squirts cartoonish strawberry jam violence across her canvases to eerie effect. Is the eye staring through a fence a Peeping Tom, or a man hiding in fear? Or both?
Text by Jethro Turner
On view now until April 28th at Guts Gallery, Unit 2, Sidings House, 10 Andre Street, Lower Clapton, London.
Photos by Jethro Turner
