Squeak Carnwath’s Unique Approach to Painting
**Art Review: Squeak Carnwath’s Dynamic Exploration of Painting’s Legacy**
Squeak Carnwath’s art fundamentally challenges the notion that painting as a medium may become exhausted. Her current exhibition, *Goddess of All* at Jane Lombard Gallery, powerfully showcases her belief that oil painting, with its Renaissance legacy, can continuously offer expansive and meaningful expression.
Carnwath, who has been somewhat overlooked by major New York institutions, remains an independent force, creating outside the confines of art movements like Bay Area figurative painting or the Funk movement. Her dedication to painting as a communicative medium is clear in her exhibited works.
The exhibition features 11 square paintings, all rendered in oil and alkyd on canvas mounted on panel. Each piece reveals Carnwath’s unique vocabulary of motifs—LP records, sinking ships, and classical figures—alongside phrases like “guilt free zone.” These elements, drawn from diverse cultural and existential symbols, encourage viewers to ponder life’s cycle, inherent disasters, and idealized views of women.
For instance, “Ancestors and Future Ghosts” (2023) juxtaposes a riot of images against a salmon-colored background, using silhouettes of historically significant figures, flowers, and writings. The flat surface transforms into a visual diary, blending personal and collective narratives, while simultaneously making a statement about the present and its ties to both past and future.
Similarly, “Ancient Fragments” (2025) places Roman bust outlines amidst goddesses and genderless figures, resonating with themes of insight and timeless connections. Carnwath’s thematic exploration affirms her resistance to didacticism; rather, it invites interpretations grounded in personal reflection.
Throughout the exhibition, Carnwath skillfully negotiates her commitment to painting against a modern backdrop, capturing fleeting order within chaos. Her intimate engagement with painting not only thrives but also challenges viewers to see beyond conventional boundaries.
*Goddess of All* remains on view at Jane Lombard Gallery through February 28, continuing to draw audiences into Carnwath’s vivid world, where painting indeed takes on any form.