"Still Theatre" by Kiah Butcher at Lane Meyer Projects

LOCATION: Lane Meyer Projects - 2528 Walnut St

CATEGORY: Art Events

PAST DATE AND TIME:

• Fri, Jan 13, 2023 - Sun, Feb 26, 2023  

Opening reception: Friday, January 13, 2023, 8pm–late

Lane Meyer Projects is pleased to open the 2023 exhibition season with Still Theatre, a solo show by Denver-based artist Kiah Butcher. Part lavish installation and part moving image portraiture, Still Theatre beckons viewers to peer into the curious worlds of three fictional female archetypes.

Eclectic and exaggerated, Butcher’s character portraits highlight the artist’s background in film and performance arts. In the tradition of Renaissance style theatre, specifically Commedia dell'arte, hyper-stylized costuming with a strong pinch of melodrama work together to distill potent, immediately recognizable stock characters. Sitting amidst curated arrays of props, the Talk Show Host, the Bridge Player, and the Rose Sovereign are illustrated through their carefully crafted vignettes.

Through Butcher’s three dramatic archetypes a deeper understanding of the self and society may be understood. While immediately recognizable in situ, each character’s portrait contains subtle moving elements only detectable by extended viewing. In this way, the act of looking becomes activated as the quick glance is supplanted by visual analysis. Short attention spans are challenged and then rewarded by extravagant sets designed to slowly reveal their secrets.

In Still Theatre, Butcher creates a captivating vehicle for conscious noticing rather than casual looking in our increasingly strained attention economy. Playful and over-the-top, Butcher’s compelling moving portraits require pause; one must intentionally search through each portrait to distill an authentic experience. Presence of mind, relinquishment of the doom scroll, and connection to the moment are the fruits born of careful viewership. Proudly featuring an all female cast, Still Theatre promises a sumptuous visual treat imbued with the potential to recenter each of us as the stars of our own narratives.

Written by Marsha Mack

Kiah Butcher is a curator and video artist with a focus on uplifting and engaging community. Currently the Associate Curator of Community Engagement for the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Butcher presents contemporary art in public spaces; from site-specific installations, to open community exhibitions. Beyond her curatorial practice, she is a video artist and filmmaker, working primarily with new media, video and photography. Inspired by the passing of time, repetition and the human attention span, she uses theatrical conventions to create and celebrate work that unites viewers in small, timeless moments. Butcher earned a B.A. in Film Production from the University of Colorado Denver, and is currently living in Denver.