Art Seen: Merrilee Challis at Young Blood

Intricately detailed paintings covered in minuscule patterns and images that might simply disappear into the background if you’re not paying close attention.

Many of Atlanta’s young, lowbrow galleries are seemingly devoted to the group show, often packing in a bunch of artists (or sometimes just a few) rather than asking a single artist to fill the space. In many ways, it’s a good policy. More artists can be exposed to a larger audience and, besides, it gives the opening parties a spirit of collaboration and collective success.

The downside, of course, is that it’s easy to miss small details and hard to focus on a particular piece when the room is filled with a mix of styles, mediums, and subject matter. Though filling an entire gallery might be a tall order for a young artist still finding their footing, that can also be the task that pushes one’s talents to a new level.

This is all a long winded way of saying -  don’t miss Merrilee Challis’ paintings at Young Blood’s latest group show, Interior/Posterior. They’re intricately detailed, covered in minuscule patterns and images that might simply disappear into the background if you’re not paying close attention.  Challis is clearly drawing some influence from Thomas Campbell’s style and palette, but her mythical beasts and woodland spirits are part of a world that’s clearly her own creation.

Check out a few details from her work after the jump.