Covid has become a state of life and of mind that we are all uncomfortably familiar with. Some moments feel like panic and others like a typical day. The way we see and experience places range from close to normal, like having dinner at home, to near apocalyptic, like empty aisles at the grocery store. “Amidst Covid” by Courtland Blade contains this spectrum of scenes, with paintings created “as we shifted into and out of isolation and distancing.”

Battle of the Continent. 4’’ x 6’. Oil on canvas.

The collection displayed in the City Gallery reads like an album of memories from the past year, bringing together work featured in previous exhibitions. Neighborhood parks hang alongside downtown buildings, with both altered by the collective experiences of the past year and a half. The park is nearly empty, the city intersections vacant, the walls featuring graffiti from the protests that followed the death of George Floyd.

The Foundry at Night. 16” x 20”. Oil on canvas.

“Amidst Covid” applies Blade’s semi-surrealist minimalism to the scenes of the city, which imply the learned sentiment of “together but alone.” Events that may have been celebrated as a city, like the Indy 500, are depicted in glimpses of a single racecar and a checkered flag on Monument Circle, sans crowds. Blade paints places that could be seen any time, any year, but his treatment of the scenes warps the traditional perspective. His ultra modern precision favors architectural lines and an almost digital display of colors and forms.

Interpretation of place rendered with exactness, with all the flaws removed and depth distorted, results in a not quite real experience, like you know the surface of the scene will be cold when you reach out to touch it. These familiar spaces remind us of the change and the consistency of the past year, the feelings of dread and of calm. Like the coffee shop down the street, pictured shuttered and at nighttime, we have borne witness to a world and a culture evolving around us, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.

Untitled (The Monument). 36" x 48". Oil on canvas.

“Amidst Covid” by Courtland Blade will be on display in the Harrison Center’s City Gallery for the month of October. The exhibit can be viewed in-person by appointment and in our online gallery, where all pieces are available for purchase.