Christopher Henry Gallery is pleased to announce a solo show of new work from New York based artist Brooke Larsen.

Continuing his exploration of the mythical world of American youth fiction and girlie magazines from the 30s and 40s, Larsen’s work depicts the adolescent underpinnings of modern America in his sewn and grid-based reproductions of pulp fiction book covers.

With a playfulness that cloaks deeper meanings, Larsen’s “sewings” make obsessive and literal use of the line in the form of a single black thread sewn precisely over the surface of his images, stitching his pulp icons into place. The technique has the effect of literalizing the stories that Larsen here depicts—adolescent tales of bravery, lust, and conflict—effectively depicting the threads of the great American narrative.

Similarly, using simple dots on a grid, Larsen’s monumental “Flirt #1” blows a typical pulp-fiction book cover up to the majestic size of 78 by 60 inches. Emulating needlepoint, Larsen’s technique here belies the essential dischord of the post-modern American dream, where the attempt to piece-together a coherent national narrative from the waste-products of our youthful pop-culture yields a disturbing gigantism of adolescent yearnings.

Playful yet profound, Larsen’s work poses provocative questions about the DNA of our pop-culture while managing to hang together as a collective dreamscape of sex, conflict, and heroism.