JUDITH PAGE: HOLES OF TRUTH November 23, 2008-February 1, 2009

The Esther Massry Gallery presents “Holes of Truth,” large paintings on photographs, works on paper, hanging and freestanding sculptures and installation elements by New York artist Judith Page. Included are selections from three bodies of work and a new installation, a series of portraits painted on pages of Plutarch’s Lives.

Autobiographical Installation Offers Stimulating Social Commentary at the Esther Massry Gallery

Judith Page is known for her inventive use of materials and stimulating social commentary. Page states that her “art emerges from a Gothic sensibility, a place where horror and beauty exist in close proximity, where innocence encounters depravity, where the spirit is consumed and revived from moment to moment.” The title “Holes of Truth” is derived from the Italian, “buchi della verita,” a custom of public postings of denunciations by one citizen about the activities of another. Page’s “postings,” however, are less confrontational than revelatory. Using cast-off objects, old diaries, books, photographs, real and constructed memories, Page selectively reveals aspects of her personal history juxtaposed with the political, cultural and social history of our time.

Page’s autobiographical installation presents a collusion of themes found in three bodies of work that focus on the subversion of innocence, the trauma of war and corruption. “Memoirs of a Beast” attempts to rewrite and redefine the artist’s personal history using her adolescent diary as the subject. “The Mouseketeers in Iraq” presents text and tar gel portrait paintings on the subject of war. For more than 10 years, Page has been working on an ongoing sculptural diary, “365 Dumb Days.” A new installation created for this exhibition presents a series of portraits of the artist’s family, friends and acquaintances and mentors painted on the pages of Plutarch’s Lives.

Page was born in Lexington, Ky., and studied art at the University of Kentucky and Transylvania University in Kentucky. Solo exhibitions and installations include the Lesley Heller Gallery (2007) and Luise Ross Gallery (2004), both in New York City; Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C. (2005); Islip Art Museum, East Islip, N.Y. (2002-03); Fairfield University, Fairfield, Conn. (2002). Additional exhibitions include the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Conn. (2007); Barbara Gillman Gallery, Miami (2007); Whitney Museum of American Art, Peace Tower at the Whitney Biennial, New York City (2006); scopeMIAMI and scopeLONDON; Pierogi Gallery and Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York City; University of Kentucky Art Museum, Lexington, Ky.; and Orlando Museum of Art in Florida, among others.

Page lived and worked in Florida until relocating to New York City in 1992. For additional information and images of Page’s works, visit her website at www.judithpage.com.