This is Craig Norton’s reconstructed desk from his solo show at White Flag Projects— Craig Norton: 127 Racist Drawings. For the exhibition, “White Flag relocated the entirety of the artist’s studio, bringing every object from his workspace (furniture, materials, light fixtures, window shades) to the gallery, where Norton was in residence creating new works.

Craig Norton is a self-taught artist from St. Louis.  He works with a 29-cent Bic pen and stippling technique to create direct photorealist faces, which he clothes in wallpaper collage. His most recent version was shown at Jim Kempner Fine Art. He was invited to participate in the 2009-2010 Vancouver Biennale, and was recently awarded a Fountainhead Residency in Miami. His work is in the collections of the deYoung Museum in San Francisco and numerous private collections.

Roberta Smith of the New York Times Review writes Craig is “a self-taught artist with a mission and an almost freakishly developed skill set.

Mr. Norton makes socially minded drawings, collages and, most ambitiously, cut-out collaged figures that he arranges on the wall in panoramas.”

Kate knows Craig as a generously, skilled artist. Not only is he a hard worker but extremely meticulous about his craft.  Before he became known to the world, I was lucky enough to purchase a few of his pieces, which I proudly show off to any visitors (few and far between).

With Craig’s work, one experiences various emotions of his figures– most of experience gut-wrenching pain while others glare with pure evil and some watch with little to no emotion.  The level of your experience is easily rendered through your emotions, a very telling sign when you walk away from the work…and those faces. (top two photos courtesy White Flag Projects; middle two courtesy Middled Blog)