Within the grand tradition of portraiture, the sitter is commonly surrounded by personal effects meant to provide clues to the identity and personality of the sitter, attributes. In a work by Hope Gangloff, these attributes threaten to become the subject and the sitter, a clever foil which allows for their depiction. Crazy quilts, space heaters, LPs, bantam hens, Adirondack chairs all people the canvas with a wild profusion of color, texture, pattern, and detail. Gangloff portrays a generation not through its luminaries but through the unsung details which often escape attention. In Gangloff’s eyes and hands, the ordinary becomes extraordinary, and the commonplace a cause for celebration. She reminds, inspires, us to cherish the routine and to find beauty in our every day.
Hope Gangloff’s work will be featured in an upcoming solo exhibition at the Broad Art Museum at Michigan State followed by a three person show at the Kemper Art Museum, Kansas City.
