Good Luck Painting, 2007
Oil on masonite
Gina Litherland’s Good Luck Painting shows a slight woman wearing a red dress. On her left, a cat reaches up, clawing at her bicep. Numerous other good-fortune symbols abound in the painting including: a horseshoe, a rabbit foot, a four-leaf clover. Even the dice on the table add up to seven. The woman crosses her right-hand fingers and throws salt over her left shoulder.
Long associated with Midwestern Surrealists, Litherland sees her practice as more tethered to gothic painting. Replete with symbols firmly grounded in the history of art, Litherland explores age-old themes with contemporary resonance. In this sense, luck could be construed as a medieval superstition or as an undercurrent we still hold on to—regardless of religious conviction. The protagonist of Litherland’s painting—the statuesque woman with the red hair—reinforces the powerful themes in the painting as she seems simultaneously unusual and striking. Her quizzical expression and her beauty come together to make Litherland’s composition intriguing for contemporary eyes.
Don Juan in the Wilderness, 2008
Oil on masonite
Seven Sisters, 2008
Oil on masonite
