Katie Butler: State of the State

Katie Butler is a painter based in Akron, Ohio. Recent exhibitions include the Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph, MI; Tchotchke Gallery, New York, NY; Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston, MA; and Hashimoto Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA. Her solo presentation at HESSE FLATOW, New York, NY was featured as a “Must See” exhibition in ArtForum, and her work has appeared in New American Paintings, Juxtapoz, Canvas Cleveland, and the CAN Journal. She was recently awarded an Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant and will participate in the inaugural Summer Artist Residency at Alfred University in Dusseldorf, Germany this summer. Butler received her BFA from the University of Akron in 2017 and her MFA from Kent State University in 2021.

STATE OF THE STATE

Katie Butler

June 2 - July 29th

With State of the State, Katie Butler’s first solo exhibition with the gallery, she continues to make allegorical still life paintings that provide critical commentary on contemporary American politics. This series responds specifically to the current political climate in the state of Ohio. Conservatives in power are working to implement extremist laws that most Ohioans do not support. Butler concentrates on two issues in particular: reproductive rights and gun control. 

The paintings are set in the Ohio Statehouse, a Greek Revival building built between 1839 and 1861, one of the oldest working statehouses in the United States. Butler references two Senate bills in particular: SB23, which would ban abortion at approximately six weeks of pregnancy with little to no exceptions, and SB215, which enables nearly any Ohioan to carry a gun without training or a permit. SB215 includes a dead deer arranged on a kitchen table, dead flowers, and a hunting rifle posed at the left side of the canvas. Beyond the window, we see another gathering of protesters beneath the flag on the Statehouse steps. These paintings exist in a state of flux, as the issues at the core of the exhibition continue to play out in real time.

Influenced by the vignettes and symbolism of Netherlandish Mannerist painter Pieter Aertsen’s (1508-1575) Meat Stall with the Holy Family Giving Alms of 1551 (North Carolina Museum of Art), Butler draws a parallel between this inverted still-life painting’s contrasting study of sin and salvation-- with abundant foodstuffs in the foreground and religious scenes in the background--and her own compositions symbolizing recent acts of elected officials in power versus the wishes of their Ohio constituents.

Just as the “Meat Stall” is peppered with symbolism and subtle cues to local politics in Antwerp at the time, these paintings borrow from the architecture, iconography, patterns, and colors of the Ohio Statehouse. They are intentionally replete with references to specific bills and laws. Underscoring the intent of the show, each painting is titled by the legislative bill corresponding to the narrative of the image. The title work, State of the State, sets the general stage for the show, depicting corridors in the Statehouse, including period furniture, as a backdrop to a kitchen table laden with game and fish, skewered and ready for consumption. Additional story cues include a pastiche of Judith Slaying Holofernes (after Artemisia Gentilleschi), a still life of dead game pinned to a wall, and views of demonstrators gathered outside the Statehouse in peaceful protest. 

Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, A Protect Choice Ohio Coalition Member
With an OPRR Physician Dr. Marcela Azevedo

July 20th, 2023
5:30 – 7:30 PM
 

100% of proceeds from those pieces sold at auction will be donated in support of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights and their efforts to enshrine reproductive rights in the Ohio Constitution. 20% of proceeds from any other work acquired from the gallery exhibition will be donated as well.eps. These paintings exist in a state of flux, as the issues at the core of the exhibition continue to play out in real time.

Please purchase your ticket through this link: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/oprrjuly20?mc_cid=80272697b9&mc_eid=06f1cdd5f6 or make checks payable to Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights PAC, 545 E Town St, Columbus, OH 43215.

RSVP by emailing eli@sstrategiesconsulting.com

The Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights is a coalition of physicians and health care professionals who believe that the elimination of Roe v. Wade is interfering with our medical practice and harming our patients.   
 

• Our mission is to ensure patients have access to safe, legal, equitable, and comprehensive reproductive medical care including abortion for all Ohioans and to protect the doctor-patient relationship from government interference, so that people can make their own reproductive health care decisions.  
• We strive to unify, inform, and mobilize physicians so that our voice is heard and considered within the movement to secure access to abortion for all Ohioans. 
• We are a physician-to-physician network that facilitates and coordinates communication, education and advocacy efforts within the medical community and related professions.  
• We function as a conduit for information that enables frontline physicians to share their real-world experiences with other practitioners, the media, the public, and policy makers.  
• We encourage and empower physicians and patients to participate in a wide range of activities that will result in legal and cultural change.  
• We serve as the trusted, reputable, and approachable public face of physicians who believe that reproductive rights are inseparable from human rights.

The Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights Political Action Committee was established to raise the funds needed to give the citizens of Ohio, like those in Kansas, Michigan, Kentucky, California, and Vermont, the opportunity to vote on a Constitutional Amendment that will protect reproductive freedom and abortion access. Your contribution to OPRRPAC will enable us to place a citizen-led initiative on the ballot in November 2023.

Our growing coalition of more than 1,400 doctors, non-physician health care professionals, well-respected advocacy groups, and concerned individuals are working to collect signatures and develop a winning campaign plan. Your participation in our effort will put us on the path to victory and ensure reproductive freedom for all.