Written by DCist contributor Lynne Venart
Heineman Myers Contemporary Art owner Zoe Myers snatched up Claire Johnson at the most recent Art Basel in Miami. In her first show at the Bethesda gallery, Johnson’s work is sure to spark speculation about the best donut shop in the area, for all of her works in Yummy, a new show of work inspired by food, are donut portraits.
Johnson, a former portrait painter, fell in love with the beauty of donuts in 2005. Yummy features six smaller donut portraits measuring 15” x 15”, and four extra large donuts measuring 36” x 36”, for when you are really hungry. Painted as viewed from above, the donuts are in acrylic on bare maple board. Despite their large size, they appear very lifelike by taking on various imperfectly round shapes, with the shine painted into the glazes revealing crevices in each donut’s texture. Looking at Johnson’s donut portraits, one is struck by the frivolity of donuts themselves. Although inexpensive, donuts are luxury items. Johnson’s work reminds us of our fondness for food, and its connection to memories.
The work of D.C. photographer Jeanette May combines provocative and playful to discuss a much more serious issue: the cost and ethics of assisted fertility. May’s seven pieces juxtapose images of chicken eggs — raw, cooked and in the process of being cooked — with images of pregnant women as well as quotes and statistics from the Department of Health and Human Services and other government agencies. Text from the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee endorsement of the Department of Health and Human Services’ $1 million embryo adoption awareness campaign is placed in the bottom left corner of Embryonic, below two images of eggs in various stages of cooking and a center image of a lovely beach at night. Above the images is a second block of text from the National Institute of Health discussing the viability of stem cell research. While May’s work is reminiscent of the conceptual art of 1970s-era Hans Haacke, who used photography and text as journalistic fact-finding devices, her use of often playful egg imagery lessens the blow by adding a touch of lightness and humor.
