Enari Gallery is happy to present After Dark, a solo exhibition by Madison Skriver. Her new series explores the tension between nostalgia and reality, drawing inspiration from mid-century American culture and cinematic storytelling. With influences like David Lynch, the artist delves into the contrast between the idealized American dream and the unsettling truths beneath its polished exterior. Her paintings, made with bold colors, surreal light, and layered symbolism, create a dreamlike atmosphere that reflects a haunting sense of the past.
Influenced by film and television, Skriver crafts scenes that feel like fragments of a forgotten dream—suspended between memory and myth. The past, viewed through the sheen of time, becomes both untouchable and enigmatic, its ghosts lingering beneath the surface. Echoing Lynch’s tension between illusion and reality, her paintings serve as portals to an alternate world, where nostalgia shimmers with an eerie undercurrent.
“We find ourselves in a world that feels both surreal and familiar, suspended between reality and dream," Skriver writes. "The compositions of these paintings resemble movie stills, inviting viewers to interpret their own unfolding stories. Themes of magic and the supernatural naturally lead us to consider the more surreal aspects of life. Ritual is one of the pieces in this show that embodies these ideas. The prominently displayed saddle shoes paired with folded socks evoke girlhood, likely from a bygone era. Yet the scene is ambiguous—Is she at a slumber party? Are her parents home? Do the candles encircling her suggest an innocent game or something more sinister? We are left to wonder what kind of ritual is taking place.”
