Brilliant Gloom

Often depicting unsettling yet strangely familiar locations, Michael Raedecker’s atmospheric paintings layer embroidery over muted planes of color. Applying pale washes of pigment “drawn” over with thread, he creates a sparse framework onto which he builds up isolated patches of detail. Brilliant Gloom depicts a view of a house in a murky, seemingly cosmic landscape with stitched-on plants and rocks that appear to float above the ground. A radiant grid of brightly colored lights hovers above the shadowy vista, vaguely reflected in the water. The gleaming colored lamps pierce the dull haze of the surrounding sky, resulting in a glowing cloud of color and light in an otherwise bleak environment—perhaps the remaining vestige of a party after the guests and host have departed or even something more supernatural.