“Sue Chenoweth: Real and Applied” at Modified Arts

The ever-transmuting nature of reality, perception and imagination are themes that thread themselves through the mixed media paintings on paper on display in “Sue Chenoweth: Real and Applied,” running through December 31 at downtown's Modified Arts.

Large-scale paintings the artist made for “here.,” a group exhibition mounted at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in Philadelphia in 2011 and smaller scale work painted by Chenoweth before she left for Brazil for a 5-week artist's residency at Largo das Artes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil are being shown together at the gallery.

Chenoweth's complex, multi-layered imagery is executed in gouache and acrylic, with additional drawing done in ink and pencil; the artist often adds Letraset rubbings, vinyl wall decals, crackle medium and glitter to the work, as well, though it's often hard to tell what's been painted and what's been applied.

All photos by Kathleen Vanesian