Kate Gordon: Alligator Naps

Kate Gordon's art begins in her dreams—bizarre, vivid experiences from the depths of her unconscious. In a stream of consciousness approach, she takes her source material to canvas—which she must first treat so that they respond to watercolors like paper does. After this laborious stage, her canvases accumulate with images layered upon one another, creating infinite new meanings cut apart and stitched back together. 

In her installation, Alligator Naps, on view at the HIlliard Art Museum, Gordon's work is displayed in her large-format canvases, hung vertically from the ceiling in layers. The effect is a culminative illusion of depth, almost sculpture-like. Like a traditional painting, the entirety of the work can only be viewed from a limited perspective, right in front of it. Presenting it this way, Gordon removes the ability to certainly interpret by close examination, reminding viewers that meaning is determined by perspective. hilliardmuseum.org.