Kindred from Bobby Gilbreath is a show about chosen family and the tension that exists between who we are and who we choose to be in alignment with. Gibreath mixes family photos with images from Life Magazine and paints to create nostalgic, emotional collages. The images are familiar and eerie.

*Hallowed*
Mixed media on wood panel
12"x12"

The use of both public & private material hints at other tensions in the work. The personal becomes political when you choose your family. The pieces ask the audience to consider who they were born as and how they became who they are.

*Eggshells*
Mixed media on wood panel
12"x12"

In person, Gilbreath’s works are almost sculptural. Images crash around roughly hewn corners. Wood panels stand up off the wall inviting the viewer to explore each side. The paper warps and wrinkles in each piece giving additional texture to the pieces. Negative spaces fill Gilbreath’s collages, separating the figures from the rest of the composition.

*Transmission*
Mixed media on wood panel
12"x12"

Running the Light is the most striking piece in the show. Black engulfs a human head surrounded by yellow light as an abstracted red form emerges from the mouth. Something fleshy sits at the bottom of the piece hiding in shadows. Isolation is a recurring theme in the show.

*Running the Light*
Mixed media on wood panel
3'x4'

Violent imagery abounds in the show. A revolver threatens the viewer in Congratulations as a crowd celebrates. In This Is Why, a nuclear power looms over legs relaxing in a pool. Prodigal Son, shows a young man throwing a molotov cocktail. Figures are often visually separated or interrupted in his compositions adding to the feeling of doom and melancholy. Landscapes shift suddenly.

*This is Why (We Can't Have Nice Things)*
Mixed media on wood panel
12"x12"

Moments of tenderness intrude on the destruction. Pairs of people hold each other close, a woman sinks into the bathtub to relax amid civil unrest. A man stands serenely with his dogs on a mountain top. In Madonna & Child, images of mothers and children repeat across a beach full of visitors. Affection from our chosen ones offers a reprieve from the inevitable chaos of life.

*Prodigal Son*
Mixed media on wood panel
12"x12"

See Kindred in the Harrison Center Gallery Annex throughout the month of June.