Philadelphia artist Anne Buckwalter is featured in a new dual-location San Francisco exhibition titled “Two Story House,” on view at the Friends Indeed Chinatown location and the Rebecca Camacho Presents space.
The artist delves into the cultural and folk art traditions of her Pennsylvania Dutch heritage in her detailed paintings. At first glance, the domestic interiors and exterior views seem ordinary and placid. Upon closer inspection, one sees that throughout her works certain figures and objects — like a red glove, a wine bottle and an alarm clock — reappear in the paintings to make the homes feel familiar.
Eventually you see that within each work are objects alluding to sexuality, eroticism and female hygiene — flashes of nudes, boxes of tampons, couples embracing — and that the subject matter is meant to serve as a framework for Buckwalter’s explorations of gender identity.
With a title like “Two Story House,” a little duality within the images is to be expected.
Tony Bravo
