SPACE 242 , Boston’s lowbrow destination, proudly announces its February 2009 exhibitions SWEET MEATS and SOUR GRAPES. The exhibitions, both on view February 27 through March 20, feature new paintings by Jennifer Lewis and new paintings and prints by Amanda Clarke respectively. The opening reception, Friday, February 27, runs from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Boston’s South End, 242 E. Berkeley Street, 2nd floor (between Albany Street and Harrison Avenue).

Ms. Lewis and Ms. Clarke will also host an artist talk Thursday, March 19, from 7:00 to 8:00p.m. RSVP required for attendance at either event at ww.space242.com. Regular gallery hours are Friday evenings, 6:30-8pm, and by appointment. No RSVP is necessary for visiting during regular gallery hours.

SWEET MEATS features a series of illustrative paintings by Jennifer Lewis. In a variety of sizes, and working with acrylics and oils on wood and paper, Lewis' work strongly focuses on a detailed narrative and deep, piercing colors. She humanizes cats, pigs, and deer, through images of lonely kittens venturing out on their own, in rowboats on stormy seas, or heading into a haunted forest. She encourages the viewer to take a second look at our "civilized" world with satirical images of piglets at the butcher counter, picking out their favorite cut of pork. Ideas of hunting, whether man or animal, second-guess the fittest of the species. Sometimes Lewis makes us cringe, with bloody palates of sanguine reds, sometimes she makes us smile, with chipmunks eating cotton candy.

The subject of her paintings are often derived from childhood stores, myths, and dreams. Her work focuses on a certain duality, a mix between whimsical and playful combined with darker undertones and a dry sense of humor. Born in Germany, Lewis spent the majority of her childhood in Maine, fascinated with the inner workings of animals, Beatrix Potter, Edward Gorey, and illustrations by Lisbeth Zwerger and Richard Scarry.

Lewis cites an array of influences, including old German text, Japanese pop iconography, tin can labels, tattoo art, classic painters Bruegel and Hieronymus Bosch, contemporary artists Jonathan Viner, James Jean, Heiko Muller, Mark Ryden, Michael Sowa, and the films of Quentin Tarantino and Hayao Miyazaki. A freelance illustrator and painter, her work has been exhibited in New England, California, and throughout the U.S.

Her artwork has been published in The Weekly Dig and Flavorpill, and will appear in the upcoming art book Mail Me Art. The recipient of the 2008 ICA (institute of Contemporary Art) curator's choice award and Juxtapoz Magazine's 2008 Mark Ryden Meat Contest runner-up, Ms. Lewis earned her B.F.A. in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design and resides in Fort Point.

SOUR GRAPES, new work by Amanda Clarke, features an exploration into her interest of portraits and patterns. "I purposefully kept my concepts for this exhibition open-ended, so that the pieces could evolve” she says. What emerged is a group of work linked by a sense of melancholy.

Her work features a wide variety of characters in colorful and different spaces. Some include distraught astronauts, lonely widows lost at sea, and anxious animals– all interesting and interested. Clarke creates an array of female characters – from pubescent girls with tattoos, vacant patterned portraits, hooded girls in snowstorms, half-naked women staring intensely, some bordering on the un-dead. She draws inspiration from folklore and fairytales as well as the Saturday morning cartoons of yesteryear.

She prefers, when painting, to work with watercolor, graphite, acrylic and gouache. And when printing, she works with silkscreen and gocco. In her current work she’s experimented with the addition of cut paper and collaged elements in her paintings. She cites influences including Alphonse Mucha, Tamara De Lempkica, Mary Blair, Jim Flora, Raymond Pettibon, Art Chantry, Gil Elvgren, Tim Biskup and others.

Ms. Clarke, originally from Rochester, New York. earned her B.F.A. in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her artwork has been featured in Crane Magazine and in various exhibitions in Providence, RI; Rochester, NY; Portsmouth, NH; and Lowell, MA. A professional web designer and illustrator, she resides in Cambridge.

Click here for a sneak peak:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/space242/sets/72157613403509334/

SPACE 242 Mini Theatre: (only at opening reception)
NEW YORK SPAWNED A MONSTER:
The Animation of Ben Levin and Patrick Smith
Mr. Levin & Mr. Smith will also host a screening and artist talk Saturday, February 28, from 12noon to 1pm.

SUBURBAN ENTANGLEMENTS is sponsored in part by The Weekly Dig and ArtScope Magazine.