Twilight Sleep

Venvi Art Gallery is pleased to present Twilight Sleep by Carrie Ann Baade. For her debut solo show at Venvi, Baade conveys hypnotizing, beautiful and at times haunting imagery through her paintings. In her allegorical narratives, she comments on difficult, real-world issues in women’s lives, that push the viewer to deconstruct and reflect upon the symbols and metaphors she is presenting.

The title of the show holds a deep and symbolic meaning as well. “Twilight sleep” refers to the outdated practice of drugging women during childbirth, that originated in Germany in the early 20th century. While this practice allowed mothers to not remember the pain of childbirth, it was a very specific procedure that not all doctors could carry out properly and even if done properly could cause hemorrhaging and death to the mothers. Baade herself learned much later in life that her own mother gave birth to her with this practice and almost lost her life because of it. In her exhibition, Baade uses “twilight sleep” as a metaphor for what she calls the “sleep of female genius” and the maddening oppression women experience amidst our patriarchal society.

Baade’s rich, layered and intriguingly surreal oil paintings draw the viewer in to explore their meaning and deeply detailed surface. While her style is undeniably unique and contemporary, she transforms traditional ways of painting and imagery from art history into her own style that honors herself as well as reclaims art history for women. Her subjects are pulled from personal references as well as images of Renaissance and Baroque paintings that she repurposes through collages. It is with this rearrangement that she produces her final alluring painted composition.

This new body of work in “Twilight Sleep” is a processing and response to the lack of female representation throughout history. It also functions as a reaction to the revelations of abuse that the “Me Too” movement has brought to the surface. The paintings in this show encapsulate the complex feelings that surround women’s issues and how they have historically been treated. They express a sense of mourning for how women have been treated as well as for the loss of dreams that women were not allowed to pursue. But they simultaneously convey hope for a brighter future for women and celebrate the divine femininity that is present in all women.

After graduating with a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and an MFA from the University of Delaware, Carrie Ann Baade rose to success with the Pop Surrealist movement that began on the west coast. She has exhibited all over the United States as well as internationally, with over twenty solo shows and over a hundred and fifty group shows. Her awards include the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs Individual Artist Fellowship, the Delaware Division of the Arts Fellowship for Established Artists and was nominated for the Joan Mitchell Grant and the United States Artist Fellowship. She has also curated multiple shows, lectured at universities across the country, and has been a professor of art at Florida State University since 2007.

“Twilight Sleep” will be open from November 6th to January 9th with the opening reception on November 6th, 5-8 pm pending the severity of Covid-19 at that time.