5 Must-See Gallery Shows in NYC This September
By • 09/11/17 3:45pm
Caris Reid at Denny Gallery
September 7–October 8
The flat surfaces of Reid’s paintings are misleading. Her work is rich in mystical iconography, in a way that is both timeless but also exceptionally immediate thanks to her bold, bright palette. The artist plays on this tension of past and present, known and unknown, in“Sub Rosa,” a Latin phrase meaning “under the rose,” which was invoked when something needed to be done or said in secret. Reid’s symbols—snails snakes, cats, crows, butterflies, flowers—tell as much of a story as do the strong, stoic-faced female figures who appear in her portraits. Look closely and you might learn their secrets.