November 11 – December 19, 2008
opening reception Thursday, November 13, 6 – 8 pm

Kit Rank’s third exhibition at the McKee Gallery returns to the Chinese and Japanese themes which characterized her first exhibition ten years ago.

Her subjects now combine, more overtly, her interest in typical older cultures with satirical observations of contemporary life. She takes an obvious delight in showing how difficult it is for the old to embrace and accept modern life. Conversely, with the inclusion of an occasional self-portrait, she shows how the modern era can sometimes yearn for the traditions of the past.

Rank’s meticulous method of working stems from an early influence of Japanese woodcuts which allows her to eliminate the formal restraints of perspective by creating illusions of deep space through large fields of fragmented color and design. The resulting impression is one of complete freshness and clarity, showing a highly sophisticated level of abstraction.

The artist was born in Fort Worth, Texas and studied at the Art Institute of Colorado, Denver, and the Art Students League in New York. She has lived for the past eight years in Sicily, Italy.