Christopher Garrett: I'm Beginning to See the Light presents paintings of largely barren cityscapes bisected by mazes — walls of pink and red brick ushering viewers inward only to obstruct progress with dead ends and impossible corridors. The perspective offers enough elevation to see beyond the maze, yet the destination proves no more spectacular than the street that preceded it, drawing the eye back into the confusion. Sparked by a 1999 Mapquest misadventure in the Santa Cruz mountains, the works meditate on how architecture and infrastructure usher, impose, and ultimately control the flow of our lives. A back room group exhibition by friends including Morgan Blair, Alicia McCarthy, and Chris Johanson offers warmth as counterpoint — the community that sustains us through the labyrinth.
