Scott Reeder’s first solo show at Kavi Gupta Gallery includes a few surprises. Nowhere in sight are his familiar humorous, figurative paintings. Instead the exhibition includes his more recent untitled spaghetti paintings. Made with both raw and cooked noodles and spray paint, these works cover the walls of the gallery. Also included in the exhibition is the premier of a series of new sculptural works.

Scott Reeder. Courtesy of Kavi Gupta Gallery.

Referencing the history of art and its traditions, the gallery states that Reeder’s “works are a saccharine, but serious critique of the essentialist approach to understanding the nature of painting as a medium in 20th century art.” Reeder uses humor to challenge and critique the hierarchies of the art world.

His new sculptural works continue this query – simultaneously acknowledging and denying the artist’s hand, the objects look like castaways on a writer or artist’s floor. Perhaps we are meant to ponder the castaways of art history and question the inclusion or refusal of works into the cannon. Reeder actively wants us to think about art history and its hierarchies, to think about art and its inclusions or exclusions.

Scott Reeder. Courtesy of Kavi Gupta Gallery.

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Reeder’s show is accompanied by Henning Strassburger’s solo show, I Am A Girl. His paintings and digitally printed curtain reflect a stylistic interest in conceptual art. A nice counterpart to Reeder’s work, this duo of shows currently up at Kavi Gupta Gallery is well worth your time.

I Am A Girl, Henning Strassburger. Courtesy of Kavi Gupta Gallery.

I Am A Girl, Henning Strassburger. Courtesy of Kavi Gupta Gallery.

Exhibitions by Scott Reeder and Henning Strassburger are on view at Kavi Gupta Gallery through July 28, 2012. Kavi Gupta Gallery is located at 835 W. Washington Blvd. For more information, visit their website.

Karen Greenwalt is a Gallery Graduate Assistant at Gallery 400 and a PhD student in Art History at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a local contributor to The Seen.