Anna Zorina Gallery is pleased to present the Kaletski solo exhibition, Lacey Lives. The show features a series of oil on linen paintings that explore a technique that the artist has developed over the past twenty years. The subtle layering of pigment creates an ornate tapestry, weaving an existential fiber that comprises the tenuous layers of individual psyches and furthermore the intricate mesh of human relationships.

This elaborate patterning endows complexity and fragility to focused areas. At times, as in Lollipop, the lace appears in the background to represent a complicated situation from which the twisted characters emerge. It develops into ornamental on clothing and skin to show intentional markings that indicate a unique personality and voice. In the painting Cornered, two boxers are entangled in a fight. The victor’s muscular body is covered with seemingly ironic tattoos that are soft and delicate. These bodily interventions act as reclamations of the self. The subject not only establishes dominance over his opponent in the ring but over his own skin and his outward perception. Conversely, the Princess Bride takes advantage of her lace veil as a means of shielding herself from external judgment while also hiding her own emotions. We are afforded only a glimpse of her sly smile that reveals her enigmatic intent. The subjects are caught within their tangle of lace to reflect a range of human interaction to others and their own selves.

Through extensive experimentation, the Lacey Lives series has grown to be a dynamic body of work. Over the past two decades, Kaletski has finessed the intertwining of primitive elements with sophisticated elegance. He places unusual characters set amongst identifiable situations, replete with the artist’s trademark humor, sarcasm and pervasive positivity to culminate in a compelling variety show.

Alexander Kaletski lives and works in New York City. The artist has exhibited widely in shows internationally including New York, Mexico City, Shanghai, Tokyo, Austria and Belarus. His works are included in the permanent collections of the Voorlinden Museum in the Netherlands, the Claryville Art Center in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belarus, the Meeschaert Collection in France and the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Collection in California.