May 14 – June 8, 2012 | Opening reception Fri. May 18  6-8PM

Ahren Hertel’s new paintings are a visualization of the everyday damage we do to the environment.  The series depicts a group of women who are making direct attacks on nature using sticks and stones.  Children often use such weapons to infer a kind of playful violence as they begin to understand their power in the world.  The women in Hertel’s paintings take that playfulness to the next level with a more deliberate act but with a similar emotional detachment.  Hertel uses only women, partly because it is unexpected, but also because it forces the viewer to reconsider traditional stereotypes of women as ‘nurturer’ or ‘mother nature.’  Every individual has the power to both inflict damage and create change.  The cause and effect of every choice one makes on a daily basis can be difficult to grasp and the idea of what is right and wrong are often clouded.  This series poses a question to the viewer:  if the outcome of your actions were clear, how would that inform the choices you make?