FREAKS AND GEEKS

Freaks and Geeks is the debut solo show of Brooklyn-based painter Hunter Potter. Sixteen works are split into two groups, exploring the dialectical tension of Potter’s everyday emotional experience.

"Freaks" is the result of messy and sporadic tangents that rip through Potter’s brain and onto canvas when he’s feeling impulsive. Inspired by lessons he learned off-the-clock, each Freak is executed in whatever style and from whatever memory came to Potter’s mind at the moment of inception. The paintings feature scenes of high school mishaps, female muses, John Steinbeck, and more. Without a plan, the end-result is more random than the originating curiosity.

"Geeks" is premeditated—drafted, sketched, gridded—and reminiscent of a domestic-themed paint-by-numbers. The paintings capture Potter’s stylized takeaways from his time working for Takashi Murakami and Colossal Media. To build a career in the professional art world may seem like an ideal path to follow, yet the ghostly mood of Potter’s household imagery suggests that it does not inevitably lead to a happy home.

Both halves of the exhibition may differ in form but are united by bright palettes and movement, bridging the void between the artist’s ability to work and his desire to play.