Not all pop art is created equal. Gabriel Madan’s literally pops off the wall: As in, a colorful macaw plushie is affixed to one of his paintings, a heart-shaped tag reading “I’m a puppet.” I want to stick my hand up its rear and make it talk. Vulgar, yes, but tasteful vulgarity is the name of the game here: A wooden cross stands adjacent to an image best described as Big Bird trapped in a coloring book, only vaguely aware of his plight; a clown-alien-demon pops up in the corner of a scene like a jumpscare. The show avoids the pitfall of being overly representational; block letters reading “Amanda Bynes” are paired with anthropomorphized celestial bodies hovering above a cluttered room rather than the likeness of the actress. Cute? Creepy? Either way, I couldn’t stop staring.
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