Amy Cutler, “Points of Egress: New Drawings & Paintings on Paper”

Cutler’s surreal allegories on paper are executed with a jewel like precision that recalls Persian and Indian miniatures, and similarly evoke a world both exotic and alien—in Cutler’s case, a dreamlike landscape of women whose interactions appear to symbolize the travails of being female. Masks are a frequent motif, reflecting, perhaps, the societal roles imposed on women. Elsewhere, subjects have had their faces replaced by cavities crowded inside with objects or other people, suggestion various states of self-abnegation. Cutler is usually known for her colorful use of gouache, though this show also include graphite drawings that render her themes in stark black and white.