Threads, Folds, & Rabbit Holes - FMU Steven F. Gately Gallery
“Threads, Folds & Rabbit Holes” presents a richly imagined body of work by Kristy Deetz that blurs the boundaries between painting, textiles, and storytelling. Across two interconnected series—”Through the Veil” and “Holidays Unfolding”—illusionistically painted fabric becomes both surface and subject, acting as a threshold into layered, shifting worlds. Shape-shifting protagonists Rabbit and Kitty Boy guide viewers through spaces where humor and unease coexist, and where visual puns, symbols, and art-historical references invite slow looking and multiple readings.
In “Through the Veil”, painted drapery opens onto conflicting dimensions of space and meaning, using moments of silence, cultural collisions, and spiritual riddles to challenge traditional pictorial structure. “Holidays Unfolding” draws on the language of still life and decorative fabric to present surreal, often Orwellian narratives—seductive in their nostalgic beauty yet pointed in their commentary on American holidays, politics, and contemporary culture.
Deetz is Emerita Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, with an extensive national and international exhibition record. Her work has been featured in major publications on contemporary painting and encaustic practice, and she has served as a visiting artist, lecturer, and artist-in-residence in the United States and abroad.