“Kim McCarty Paints!” 2013. Installation view. Courtesy of the museum.

Kim McCarty is currently on view in her exhibition “Kim McCarty Paints!”.  McCarty for her exhibition  constructed a makeshift painting studio in the project room of the Santa Monica Museum of Art. McCarty’s delicate watercolors look to be half dry and are serenely hung along the walls of the museum. McCarty’s new paintings are a striking reminder that while the artists’ hand evolves in her work, so does the subject matter. Birds and plant life tumble into her paintings, as do more fantastic creatures such as giraffes and deer, bringing in new creatures into the breath of her work.

Untitled, 2012-2013, approximately. 15 x 11 inches. Courtesy of the artist

Untitled, 2012-2013, approximately. 15 x 11 inches. Courtesy of the artist

McCarty’s well known works highlight lonely nudes and gender-blurring portraits of both female and male subjects, which are suddenly given pets and dreams allowing the viewer only a sliver of their world to embrace. In previous works pale pinks and blues wash over subjects but in her current exhibition this new cast sits on the stark white paper all alone coexisting with one another through the way they are installed in the space.

“Kim McCarty Paints!” Is open April 6-April 2oth at the Santa Monica Museum of Art, located at 2525 Michigan Ave Santa Monica, CA 90404. You can Kim McCarty work in the space April 11-13 and 18-20, from 1-6pm.  For more information visit here.

-Contributed by Hailey Loman