Larell Potter: Our Better Angels

Curated by Emily Reynolds

November 11 – December 16, 2023

Opening Reception December 1, 7-9 pm

When I was young, staying up late to watch Adult Swim on Cartoon Network felt like a rite of passage: transgressive in their lateness and apparent vulgarity, and either a little over my head or maybe just written for a stoner several years my senior, I  couldn’t help be drawn to the way the cartoons looked themselves. The illustrators captured a dark realness and humor in their caricatures that felt as relevant to my young existence as it does to me today. The first time I saw Larell Potter’s work ignited a similar excitement about the transgressive – an artist working through the mundanity and emotions of real life with a sensibility that is simultaneously crude and sophisticated, sometimes potty-mouthed and sometimes translated from the German. 

Potter is an artist with disabilities whose practice is supported by Starlight Art Studio and Gallery. His illustrated characters cover every surface he can get his hands on. He works on cardboard tubes, wrapping paper, full-scale furniture, luggage, and regular old paper. Recently he’s been working on the back of transparent surfaces, building layers of paint in reverse, from foreground to background, collaging with found materials and pulling found imagery into a world inhabited with his own characters. Words and poetry are also incredibly important to Potter’s practice - many of the works include poetry on the back. Where possible, I’ve scanned and included the backs of the works, and also translated when they appear in non-English languages.

This selection of works highlights Larell’s use of angels. Perhaps the most common motif in his recent work, the angels in his drawings are often weeping, covering their faces with their hands, or otherwise showing signs of grief.  They remind me of our many failures as humans, of our failure to take care of others, of our planet, and even of ourselves. They are a potent reminder to be better.