I didn’t realize this book had come out some months ago or I would have snagged a copy sooner. Luckily I spotted one of the last copies at the D.A.P table at the NY Art Book Fair. This book is made on the occasion of Clare Roja’s exhibition at The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University. The cover is embossed with a beautiful branch and the inside is full of Clare’s stunning folk art inspired paintings and photos from her installation. Some of the paintings look like quilts on the wall and others actually have quilted fabrics sew to frame them. They are just georgeous. The patterns and color choices feel familiar giving me the warm feeling of grandma’s house and country homes -I mean the ones without the naked men with pointy penises- there are quite a few of those. In some paintings there is a definite role reversal from the usually scantily dressed woman- instead the men are naked, or in tiny underwear and the woman are dressed and watching, even photographing the nude men. The drawing style, and line work of the figures in the paintings bring to mind Margaret Kilgallen’s work. Many times the characters are interacting with animals- carrying them, riding them or wearing their skins. A lot of the paintings have figures playing music- which comes as no surprise. Clare has released five albums under the name of “Peggy Honeywell” and often performs her music at her opening night receptions of her shows. Here’s a sample song I really love. See more of Clare’s work here and pick up a copy of this book here.

© Julia Rothman 2007