In Dogs and Chickens We Trust

SPACES is pleased to present In Dogs and Chickens We Trust, a two-person exhibition featuring paintings, drawings and photographs by Chen Peng (Cleveland Institute of Art ‘16 Alum) and Dino Takashi. This curatorial project offers not a mirror, but a window peering through speckled glass into a fever dream: bird clocks combine with mountain-scapes in surreal wonder, and chickens wrestle to entertain an assumed preconception.

For Peng, objects steeped in quotidian familiarity gather into still-lives grounded in pastoral sensibility. She paints dogs, clocks, a ginger root, and the moon with stark recognition. We can identify with our own surroundings in Peng’s paintings, causing the window to be a bit more reflective than transparent. Through animal companionship, Peng creates an environment appropriate for a sanctuary where we can hide from the distrust plaguing the world: simple and sweet become the dominant currency of exchange.

For Takashi, chickens serve as an ironic window to depict representations of life in the Philippines: gathering and plotting around a fire, fighting in a ring, posed and integral to a portrait. Takashi, originally from Manila, Philippines, utilizes the chicken to stage reflections on stereotypes and representations of Filipinos, employing humor and wit to underscore the weight of these misunderstandings. He uses himself as characters in the work as a playful take on self-portraiture.

These paintings and photographs by Peng and Takashi depict personal vignettes we contend with, as if we have entered a scene in media res.

This curatorial project is organized by SPACES Curatorial Coordinator, Thea Spittle.