A Party going on at canada

Dropped in on Katherine Bernhardt and her friends at the month long sleepover party down at CANADA on the Lower East Side. These are bold fun paintings of fashion models and musicians. Heroines to be admired and lusted after. With lush paint slathered on the canvas with exuberance and energy we feel Ms. Bernhardt touching and fondling her idols. Like baby dolls she primps their hair, straightens their dresses and lines them up to show off and be observed. It’s star-gazing and it feels a little bit like a guilty pleasure. But there’s no shame in that. Unlike the fashion photography which she uses as reference, in which the models often feel lifeless posing zombies, these paintings imbue her women with a life-force and energy. They feel alive, breathing and moving, and any minute they could pop out of the flat surface of the canvas and start dancing and gyrating. Kate, Giselle, Natalia, Agyness, Simon, Kanye & George is a fun show and you can stop off and get some congee or dim sum after the party!

Katherine Bernhardt “Kate, Giselle, Natalia, Agyness, Simon, Kanye & George” is on view at CANADA Gallery through June 1, 2008