The Kravets/Wehby Gallery is pleased to announce Pink Polemic a group exhibition curated by Erin Abraham including new work by Nina Chanel Abney, Negar Ahkami, Alison Blickle, Shiri Mordechay and Jenny Morgan. The exhibition opens Thursday June 28, with a reception from 6-8 pm and runs through August 2007.

Strong self-reference unites the artists in Pink Polemic. The work of these artists is controversial and combatant at times while affirming and exultant at other times. The self-referential theme of these works operates like a polemic: the viewer decides if each work presents arguments for or against the imagery set forth by the artist.

Nina Chanel Abney toys with both gender and race in her expansive canvases that reference facets of her own life. Abney often depicts a calm confidence in friends and family while her self-portraits reflect a strong state of agitation. Negar Ahkami fuses her American upbringing with her Iranian heritage in politically charged work. Her large paintings incorporate facets of Islamic tiles into a modern day Harem scene where women peruse Harper’s Bazaar while donning glittering Valentino inside the confines of a palace wall. Portraits of distorted amalgams of women by Alison Blickle take on new meaning in the eyes of our image conscious generation. The female body has been streamlined for glossy consumption and nature is confused. What happens when these women traverse the natural terrain without the trappings of society? Shiri Mordechay is a habitual insomniac who paints the imagery that keeps her awake at night. Narratives emerge amidst portals to other dimensions indicated with saturated color and fractures of light dividing the picture plane. Ashley Bickerton-esque heads roll and classic Joseph Beuys-ian performance unfurls in breathtaking panoramic hysteria. Jenny Morgan paints radiant classical portraiture. Her subject ranges from fellow artists to self-portraits to women she finds on the internet. Her work often has binding factors, whether arteries and veins extending from the eyes, swathes of red satin or conceptual restraints.