Although it’s earned a good reputation in retrospect, childhood can be a perpetually terrifying experience. You spend years as nothing more than an innocent, defenseless flesh ball, navigating the world without the knowledge or power to protect yourself from whatever evils may lurk beyond — be they a scary dog, a bossy teammate or a mysterious gentleman in a slow moving car.
Oakland-based painter Jennie Ottinger translates the gravity of those early years into paint, all the suspiciously grinning faces and all-in-good-fun sporting events, rendered with a hint of something sinister. Her current exhibition “Letter to the Predator” explores the sliding scale between predator and prey, pervert and ingenue, man and beast, nostalgia and nightmare.
Jennie Ottinger Snake Wrestler 2015 Oil on canvas 16″ x 20″
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Raise your hand if you feel creeped out by your childhood teddy… or just a bit aroused.
“Letters to the Predator” runs until February 28, 2015 at Johansson Projects in Oakland. Get a preview below.
