{"id":38209,"date":"2017-04-23T21:46:21","date_gmt":"2017-04-24T03:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=38209"},"modified":"2025-11-12T08:26:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T15:26:24","slug":"layered-emotions-in-paint-whitney-horrocks-personae","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/layered-emotions-in-paint-whitney-horrocks-personae\/","title":{"rendered":"Layered Emotions in Paint: Whitney Horrocks\u2019 Personae"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cWound\u201d by Whitney Horrocks, 48\u2033 x 48\u2033<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I<\/span>n\u00a0Personae<\/em>, her current exhibit at Salt Lake City\u2019s Marmalade Branch Library, Whitney Horrocks has managed to bring emotion to the surface through many layers of abstraction, showing the viewer the depth of the work even as the initial presentation may seem classically light and colorful. In all the pieces, displayed on two levels of the library, white, pink, and burgundy predominate, but on further inspection, more layers are distinguished, and the individual beauty of each painting reveals itself.<\/h4>\n

In the upstairs gallery space, the large painting titled \u201cWound\u201d draws the eye to the abrupt, dark burgundy hole that has torn its way violently through a bright white background, drips of white paint falling to the bottom of the birch panel.\u00a0 The colors are muted and dark, drawing the eye to the center of the injured artwork. Just next to this piece, however, Horrocks has placed two delicate, almost insect-like pieces, titled \u201cAculeate 1\u201d and \u201cAculeate 2\u201d, meaning \u201csharply pointed, prickly\u201d.\u00a0 These two pieces indeed do have sharp points and jagged corners, as well as metallic gold paint and use of dynamic coloration and movement created in the brushstrokes. They stand in stark juxtaposition to the larger \u201cWound\u201d for several reasons.\u00a0 They are significantly smaller paintings, but they seem to be busier as well.\u00a0 They are more brightly colored, and have more significantly contrasting colors layered upon each other.\u00a0 They also have more defined form, while \u201cWound\u201d seems to be somewhat amorphous.\u00a0 The fact that these three images are displayed so close to one another creates an interesting play within the space, and makes for visual excitement.\u00a0 It gives the viewer an opportunity to find similarities and differences, and to look between one work and the other pair, and find different moments of catharsis in each.<\/h4>\n
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\u201cAculeate 1\u2033 by Whitney Horrocks, 20\u2033 x 20\u201d<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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\u201cAculeate 2\u2033 by Whitney Horrocks, 20\u2033 x 20\u201d<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

The many layers of human emotion are what the University of Utah grad wants to explore with her work.\u00a0 Her goal, she says, is to create work that is palatable, even though it is complex and layered and deeply faceted.\u00a0 Her work achieves just this purpose.\u00a0 If the viewer takes enough time to consider any one of the pieces presented at the gallery, the layers start to become apparent.\u00a0 Not only are there different colors hidden beneath each bolder part of the canvas, but different techniques also are called to the forefront.\u00a0 The subtlety and complexity seems nearly endless.<\/h4>\n

A piece that from across the room may appear as some classically painted burgundy flowers on a pink-and-white background, when approached transforms into myriad layers of paint put on through brushstrokes, through dripping, through hours of painstaking work.\u00a0 The backgrounds are not simply pink and white, but contain subtler shades of blue, of orange, of surprising yellow and bright gold.\u00a0 The pieces take time to consider, as do the multilayered personae of people.<\/h4>\n
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\u201cAbscission 2\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Horrocks has achieved her goal, creating pieces that are palatable to look at, but complicated beneath the surface, and take time to consider deeply. Her fusion of classic and contemporary techniques, as well as her refreshing approach to storytelling through paint, make this an exhibit well worth stopping by to see.<\/h4>\n

Personae: Paintings by Whitney Horrocks<\/em>,\u00a0Marmalade Branch Library<\/a>\u00a0(280 West 500 North, SLC), through May 26.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWound\u201d by Whitney Horrocks, 48\u2033 x 48\u2033 In\u00a0Personae, her current exhibit at Salt Lake City\u2019s Marmalade Branch Library, Whitney Horrocks has managed to bring emotion to the surface through many layers of abstraction, showing the viewer the depth of the work even as the initial presentation may seem […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1560,"featured_media":38210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,14],"tags":[2837],"class_list":["post-38209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exhibition_reviews","category-visual_arts","tag-marmalade-branch-library"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/horrockswhitney.wound_-e1493422481556-1200x1191.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-07 05:40:47","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1560"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38209"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98511,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38209\/revisions\/98511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}