Marykate O'Neil: like, comment, share
November 28, - December 23, 2023
Blue Mountain Gallery is pleased to announce, “like, comment, share”, a solo exhibition of recent work by gallery artist Marykate O’Neil. Marykate is a multidisciplinary artist moving from songwriting to painting to collage, the subject matter dictates the medium.
“Since 2020, I have been working at home. For me this has meant that the majority of my daily interactions occur only through a screen. The day job, staring all day at a screen; only to turn to a different screen at night, to stream more 'content'. The phone. The laptop, The iPad. The ‘zoom’ calls. Emails. Texts. Tweets. The streaming service. The FB ‘friends’. The Instagram ‘followers’. The TikTok. The computer screen. The computer screen. It has all felt a bit like the Jetsons meets the 'Boy in the Plastic Bubble’. The work in this show is based upon a selection of imagery and experiences I saw through at least one of my screens. It’s à l'intérieur or a shut-in inspired exhibition."
Marykate’s paintings are colorful, unique in texture and have an intuitive sense that is often simultaneously representational and expressionistic. Subversive humor and playfulness infuse her work. Every gesture is made into an artistic experience embracing the pop culture of the everyday. In addition to painting, Marykate is a critically acclaimed indie-pop songwriter, who has released six albums and performed throughout the U.S. and Europe; her songs have been featured in movies and television. “A true original, Marykate has crafted a style with humor and irony intact anchored in daily life” Rolling Stone. Marykate’s painting practice is closely related to her music, “The more I paint, I feel like my paintings look like my songs sound. In both arenas, I am drawn to small everyday moments that stick to you – the ones where contradictions sit comfortably side by side each other.”
Opening reception, November 30th 5-8pm
This is Marykate’s first solo exhibition at Blue Mountain Gallery. Marykate’s work will also be showing during the month of November at the Wild Project Gallery, 195 East 3rd Street, NY, NY as part of a collaboration she did with Jill Sobule’s NYTIMES critics pick show, “f*ck the 7th grade”. The exhibit and the musical will be running in conjunction at the Wild Project gallery and theatre.
Marykate has studied painting at the Art Student's League of New York, the New York Studio School, Parsons and Mass Art. Marykate’s work has been featured in over a dozen of juried shows, including exhibits curated by the Art Student’s League of NY, Manhattanville College, Columbia University, the National Association of Woman Artists and several online project spaces.