Lost and Found

Caitlin McCormack and Fred Stonehouse

February 15 - March 29, 2025
Second Thursday Reception: Thursday, March 13 | 6-9 pm

Open Saturdays from 12-5pm or by appointment

Peep is excited to present "Lost and Found," a two-person exhibition featuring acrylic paintings on paper by Fred Stonehouse from Madison, WI, alongside crocheted sculptures and pen drawings by Caitlin McCormack from Philadelphia, PA. This exhibition explores the idea of discovering cherished items within our personal narratives. Just as one sifts through a lost and found for missing belongings, the works in "Lost and Found" reveal, and sometimes conceal, the artists' personal histories, memories, and emotions.

Fred Stonehouse's characters in his paintings wrestle with the complexities of communication and connection, illustrating the often comical yet poignant nature of our interactions. His figures—devils, pears, skulls, hearts, and octopi—weep, bleed, sweat, and speak to one another, yet they never quite connect in the ways they hoped. Similar to memories, these characters often appear only half-formed, existing in a space of becoming or dissolving. Some attain a tangible presence, granting them more agency within the narrative, while others exist only as specters, exerting their influence through suggestion and the subconscious. Each piece embodies the nuances of shared experiences, much like forgotten items rediscovered, imbued with emotion and significance.

Caitlin McCormack draws inspiration from folkloric botanical motifs, institutional osteological displays, and sci-fi/body horror cinema. Her hand-crocheted sculptures serve as vessels for personal objects, grouped together as emotive artifacts that tell stories of mental illness, isolation, and queerness. These intricate forms, adorned with fibrous details, transform moments of despair into symbols of beauty and resilience, much like discovering a cherished memento that holds a profound story. In the exhibit, McCormack's delicate pen drawings on sketchbook paper complement the sculptures. These drawings, created prior to the sculptures, reflect ideas that were once lost but have now been found.