JASON CYTACKI

Reruns

In these paintings, everyday Midwestern scenes are presented as dimly lit nocturnes. Using specifically mundane imagery, each painting is intended to evoke a sense of ambiguous but relatable familiarity existing at the threshold of something ending or perhaps something yet to come.  These vacant scenes are reminiscent of a stage upon which the actors seem to have already left.  A heavy darkness shrouds each tableau replacing the embedded optimism with a sense of unease.  Furthermore, each image actually represents a crude hand-built miniature set depicted so as to create the illusion of reality.  This illusion dissolves upon closer inspection when visible details such as the corrugation of the cardboard and tape become apparent, suggesting their fragility and artifice.