Janet Kurnatowski is pleased to present Kris Scheifele in her second solo exhibition, “Fade” from September 7 – October 7, 2012. There will be an opening reception on Friday, September 7th from 7-9pm.

“Fade” is culled from a selection of Kris Scheifele’s most recent works. Her modest sized but somatic paintings are fiercely anchored in process and continue the singular and signature methodologies first developed in her Contortions series—applying approximately thirty layers of acrylic paint to a wooden support Scheifele then slices, carves, and peels free these viscous slabs of paint from their frame. Finally her “paintings” are left to hang directly on the wall, supported by nails, where they continue their performance -sagging, bending, and stretching. Moreover, the work in “Fade” boldly adds a fresh set of adjectives and visual connotations to Scheifele’s ever expanding oeuvre. Her latest works seemingly and dramatically dissolve into thin air / an innumerable amount of pixels. Ostensibly the works have suffered under the ravages of fire or the insatiable appetite of swarming locusts. Yet, before these sculptural and sensuous “paintings” transition into a digitized decay, they unleash vivid colors that pulsate with cosmic energy and emotional brilliance.

Fade is an enthusiastic celebration of cycles both in life and art; as Lucio Fontana radically challenged the autonomy of the canvas Scheifele continues the cycle, paying tribute to the canvas by doing away with it completely. With a nod and a wink the work offers flashes of a memento-mori, saturated with seductive splendor.

Kris Scheifele received her MFA from Pratt Institute and her BA/BFA from Cornell University. She received a Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Grant and attended Skowhegan on a full fellowship. She is based in New York City. For more information or images, please contact the gallery.