PRESS

'Consumer Taste from Cute to Cool," a new show featuring the humorous, ironic work of Edmonds artist Rachel Van Citters, is being hosted by Gallery North through Dec. 6 at the gallery's new downtown Edmonds address: 508 Main St.

A reception for the artist will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday during the monthly ArtsWalk. Information: 425-775-0946.

The show began as a comment on shopping experiences the artist has known. For example, in the oil painting "Cool Mart," hipsters sift through kitschy bargains in a flea market environment.

This is a setting the artist knows all too well: "I spend way too much time scrounging bargains from thrift stores and dragging stuff home most people wouldn't be caught dead with," Van Citters said.

Another painting, "Quaint Mart" is set in an antique mall. Here the characters are a demented Bo Peep enjoying cocoa and cookies while her fallen flock misbehave. There's a painting about a famous discount store and also a peek inside a woman's handbag at her cosmetic purchases. Other comments on consumerism include "The Night Nursery" series where a pair of children accumulate "strange, wonderful objects and ideas."

Van Citter's works are a result of a lifetime of drawing and painting. Moving away from realism, she began producing these "fractured fairy tales" when she and her husband both found themselves laid off from their jobs in 2001. "My paintings confront the world as I find it - often with humor in the face of disaster," she said. "This tragi-comedic format allows me to transcend overwhelming feelings and events."

Painting with rich blocks of color and texture, she directs the viewer into the intense gaze of her trademark childlike allegorical figures she calls "Woojzees," a tribute to the colorful, imaginative stories her Dutch grandfather used to tell.

The artist and her husband moved to Edmonds from the Dallas area in 2002. She can be contacted at www.rachelvancitters.com.

September 30, 2004 — in the "Edmonds Beacon"
(article by Al Hooper)

Humor in Art?
It Works for Rachel

The humorous, ironic work of local Edmonds artist, Rachel Van Citters, has been selected for inclusion in the prestigious “Art Port Townsend—Expressions Northwest.”

The selection was made for the Port Townsend Arts Commission’s 6th annual Juried Art Exhibit from October 9-31.

Rachel Van Citters’ work was among only 87 art pieces chosen. She will exhibit an oil painting titled, “Cool Mart”, part of a series exploring consumers’ taste from cute to cool.

“My paintings confront the world as I find it—often with humor in the face of disaster”, the artist says.

Using simplified shapes, she incorporates a grid of color into her narrative work. In “Cool Mart”, hipsters sift through kitschy bargains in a flea market environment. Another painting, “Quaint Mart”(shown here) depicts a demented BoPeep and her fallen flock shopping for antiques. It will be featured in a free lecture presented by Jake Seniuk at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 10th at the Northwind Arts Center in Port Townsend.

For more information about the show or the lecture call 1(360) 437-9579.

Both “Cool Mart” and “Quaint Mart” will be on view in Edmonds at Gallery North (508 Main Street) throughout November and continuing to December 5th.

For more information, please call Gallery North at 425-774-0946.

Rachel Van Citters, who received her BFA from Texas Women’s University, moved to Edmonds from the Dallas area two years ago. Her most recent exhibits include inclusion in Seattle’s Bumbershoot “Bumberbiennale 2004: Consumables” curated by art critic Matthew Kangas, and “Art of the Garden” presented by the Arts Council of Snohomish County. She has shown her work in group and solo shows throughout the US and Canada.

Rachel Van Citters’ rendition of “Quaint Mart” caught the attention of the selection committee that chose it for the forthcoming exhibition in Port Townsend.

What's New   |   Paintings   |   Woojzees   |   Events   |   Press   |   About the Artist   |   Contact   |   Home

All artwork on this website is fully protected under International Copyright Law.