You Don’t Know Me | Two Coats of Paint
October 29, 2024 | Mark Wethli
You Don’t Know Me: Trompe L’Oeil and Artistic Illusion
On a small shelf in a quiet corner of Sarah Bouchard Gallery in Woolwich, Maine, sits a dog-eared paperback copy of Lewis Hyde’s Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art. With a growing sense of delight, we soon realize that the book is itself a trick, a trompe l’oeil sculpture by Justin Richel, convincing in every detail from its vintage 1990s graphics to its well-worn cover. Along one side of the book are four bookmarks, very likely denoting meaningful or inspiring passages. Everything about the piece suggests a volume that someone – presumably the artist – has re-read many times, determined to unlock its significance even as the object itself stands as proof of his success. It is a fitting overture to “You Don’t Know Me,” the four-person show currently on view. The artists – Carly Glovinski, Rachel Grobstein, Duncan Hewitt, and Richel – present kindred explorations of parallel realities, producing conundrums and contradictions that give rise to visual enchantment and philosophical contemplation.
