Mernet Larsen's Reverse Perspective Paintings Debut at James Cohan Gallery

Mernet Larsen presented her first major New York gallery exhibition at James Cohan Gallery's downtown location from January 22 to February 21, 2016. The show, titled 'Things People Do,' featured paintings employing her signature reverse perspective technique, where objects enlarge as they recede. This spatial disruption creates disorienting, uncanny interiors inhabited by simplified, boxy figures. Works like 'Alphie' (2015) and 'Punch' (2016) depict cafeteria and dining scenes with inverted viewpoints that challenge conventional pictorial logic. Larsen's approach draws from diverse influences including Roman and Byzantine painting, El Lissitzky, Josef Albers, M.C. Escher, and Al Held, while also referencing contemporary visual culture like Marvel Comics and video games. The exhibition sold out, marking a significant moment for the septuagenarian artist. Her paintings explore psychological space through distorted scales and geometries, as seen in 'Reading in Bed' (2015), which portrays domestic intimacy with unsettling proportions. Other works like 'Chainsawer and Bicyclist' (2014) introduce narrative tension through visual puns and spatial ambiguity. Larsen's recent work shows a shift toward lighter paint application and broader subjects, moving from academic interiors to outdoor scenes, though maintaining her distinctive graphic precision with pencil lines and flat color planes.