A few years ago, when Anna Weyant was an emerging painter that we thought would become quite a compelling artist in the contemporary art world, she told us, "I think subtlety. I'm into dark, dark humor. There's something amazing to me about tragicomic narratives. I think they have sad elements, but I don't want the paintings to be totally sad." This caught my attention as I looking at the works in Weyant's new solo show, Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolves?, on view at Gagosian Davies Street in London and a highlight of the Frieze week there. She is painting something sinister, but there is also this incredible ability to also see something light underneath. It's consciously taking us into a dark place, like a haunted film that also isn't scared of using dark humor to freak you out a little more.
Also, one can't help but note the title of the show, both an ode to one of the great fairy tales but also the the symbolism of a woman entering the contemporary art world of critique, laid bared to the wolves of economics and a new attention. Gagosian noted "a tragicomic awkwardness," and it feels like each character would rather not be seen but also present. It's a beautiful dichotomy that Weyant is alluding to, and her best works to date. —Evan Pricco
