Laura Catherwood

2025 Feature at Antler Gallery

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 Show synopsis by Jason Ankeny:

‘Survival Adaptations’ finds hope in our hopelessness. Laura Catherwood’s urgent and resolute solo feature confronts the despair of our times, pitting the Chicago-born painter and illustrator’s trademark humanity in direct opposition to the unrelenting inhumanity of those now in power.
‘Survival Adaptations’ explores new depths within Catherwood’s phantasmagorical world: here predatory forces expose the inherent vulnerability of her woodland protagonists. The show’s three oil paintings and 10 tonal drawings are clarion calls for community, camaraderie and collectivism, portraying moments of profound serenity inside a maelstrom of savagery.
“Usually my work is about catharsis, and about letting go. There’s a kind of passive acceptance I’m trying to encourage. This show is a response to what I refuse to accept. We're fighting, instead of going with the flow,” Catherwood says. “Nothing stops the creatures in ‘Survival Adaptations.’ The water is rising, but they keep each other safe and dry, so they're okay. They’re surviving. This show is my way of saying ‘We’re resilient — we're surviving, too.’”