Exhibition of new work from Vera Iliatova, Jude Tallichet and Charles Wilkin at Catskill Art Space

Livingston Manor, NY – Catskill Art Space is pleased to announce an exhibition of new work from Vera Iliatova, Jude Tallichet and Charles Wilkin.

The exhibition will be on view in the ground floor galleries of Catskill Art Space, 48 Main Street, Livingston Manor, NY, from September 2 through October 14, 2023. Exhibition hours are Friday and Saturday, 11am – 5pm, and Sunday 11am – 3pm.

Through varied mediums, the artists explore memory, loss and ghostly embodiments.

Vera Iliatova, having grown up in Leningrad, Russia, later defecting at the age of fifteen to seek refuge from antisemitism, received political asylum in Brooklyn in 1991. Iliatova’s paintings depict vicissitudes of her younger self: young women, as ciphers, stand-ins, imposters, and actresses, performing upheavals of adolescence and feigned early adulthood. The places that they inhabit are elusive, hybrid settings of postindustrial cities, dilapidated boarding schools or suburban landscapes. The cinematic sensibility in the paintings presents scenes that, while plausible, are clearly artificial and choreographed. The contrast between the technical approach to the composition and the deep emotional currents in both the setting and the characters create dissonance that amplifies the unsettling and moving effect on the viewer.

Jude Tallichet’s series Whispers Down the Lane features large objects cast in translucent white tissue paper, transmuting the solid and concrete into disembodied ephemeral forms. Elements feel like specters of Tallichet’s past work, which previously utilized bronze and steel to cast often large-scale forms, while this body of work evokes our immediate past, speaking to the newly realized future. The ethereal work is responsive to our bodily relation, drawing movement from small gusts of air, fluttering in the breeze lovingly and delicately. These effects dynamically make the work feel more alive than ever, while imbued with shadows of objects and immanent souls of beings. The conceptual sculptures pivot on the transience of thought, reality, and substance. As the meaning is passed from one iteration to another—like whispers down the lane—they underscore how quicky the world and meaning within and of it can change.

Charles Wilkin’s collage work replicates the frenetic and inherent collision of people, culture, and emotions that we all experience. Drawing from disparate thoughts and observations, centered on a singular theme, Wilkin’s work pulls from our world’s ugliness and cruelty to extract the beauty and empathy within us all, revealing the unknown, unspoken and intangible things that make us truly human. The artist’s process-driven work is derived directly from the intertwining of these associations and the spontaneity of his creative process. This gives the work the freedom to live creatively in the moment, and the ability to respond to current events, despite the fact that his imagery derived primarily from vintage magazines.

Opening date: September 2, 2023
Address: 48 Main St. Livingston Manor, NY 12758
Artists Talk: Saturday, September 2, 2023 3-4pm
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 2, 2023 4-5pm
Exhibition on-view: September 2 – October 14, 2023