Ashely Peifer, sugar sugar

Opening Reception/Public welcome/Free

Forget stereotypes of angst-ridden artists who want to shock audiences with morbid commentary on the state of society. Minnesota artist Ashely Peifer wants you to feel happy. Her deceptively simple, candy-colored compositions intentionally evoke impressions of simpler times and childlike innocence. And she’s unabashed if critics think they’re too sweet.

“My paintings are intentionally playful and happy,” states Peifer. “There’s no dark undercurrent. I want my work to remind people of happy little memories. There’s a quote by artist, Mary Heilman, that I really like, ‘I just think that in the midst of all the digital stuff, people sort of crave seeing something that’s still and quiet and on the wall.’ I want my art to be that something ‘still and quiet,’ that escape we need from all the other static in our lives.”

Image credit: Ashely Peifer "rock pets"