This lady knows how to get me thinking and I simply love her use of color!

Angie Reed Garner (1969, Lexington KY) is a second-generation narrative figurative painter, with a BA from Reed College in ’89 (Classics). Garner has been exhibiting actively since 1996 with seven solo shows in the US and in Europe.

Garner’s favored theme is the fragility of identity and belonging–that which makes social life possible. Her work explores gender, place, continuity and discontinuity of self, marginality, public/private–the refusal of (self) alienation. Garner paints saturated, symbolic canvases.

From an intellectual and activist concern for social justice, Garner also creates installations using resonant materials suchas currency, vintage Americana, and toys.

Garner currently resides in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The above image is taken from a series about gender identification.   I have my own opinion but still I wonder…  Are the figures female or male or one of each?  One is clearly the puppet but the puppet seems to be in charge.  Hmmm…   And why did the artist create two identical houses in the background?  This is the kind of stuff I can hang on my walls and question every time I pass by!

The Goddess Tara is associated with four animals, one of them being the Raven.  This black bird traditionally represents transformation and are a symbol of higher thought and intelligence in many indigenous cultures around the world.   It’s interesting that the artist chose to place her two ravens outside the cage while watching the woman tumbling off the fence.   The roses could mean lost love, the bare light bulb burning brightly inside….what do you think?  Is someone, or some thing, having an Oprah ‘Aha’ moment maybe?

Nothing an artist ever does is random.

Check out Angie’s website at www.angiereedgarner.com to see more of this fascinating talent’s work.