Katie Pretti Dominant Recessives at Le Gallery, Toronto from April 4 - 29th, 2007

Katie Pretti, Drought Spring, 2007. Image: le-gallery.ca

Katie Pretti, Drought Summer, 2007. Image: le-gallery.ca

Katie Pretti, Drought Fall, 2007. Image: le-gallery.ca

Katie Pretti, Drought Winter, 2007. Image: le-gallery.ca

Will Kucey’s Le Gallery is quickly establishing a reputation for showing hot, young, local artists.

Katie Pretti is a case in point.

Her delicate ink, oil and graphite drawings show the influence of Cy Twombly’s work, who was in turn influenced by Paul Klee. Interestingly, both Klee and Twombly worked with media like oil, ink, graphite and watercolour in one work, as does Pretti.

Cy Twombly, Leda and The Swan, 1962. Image: wikipedia.org

Paul Klee, Hermitage, 1918. Image: abcgallery.com

Pretti also apparently occasionally inserts figurative elements or sexual organs into her abstractions, recalling a similar habit by New York painter Cecily Brown (who shows with uber-dealer Larry Gagosian) and British sculptor and Turner Prize nominee (and VoCA favorite) Rebecca Warren.

Cecily Brown, New Louboutin Pumps, 2005. Image: artnet.com

Rebecca Warren, SHE - Valerie, 2003. Image: saatchi-gallery.co.uk

Rebecca Warren, SHE - 10-4, 2001. Image: Saatchi-gallery.co.uk

Another, more local artist whose work shares similarities with Pretti is the Toronto-based Italian artist Mascia Manunzia who shows with Lehmann Leskiw gallery. Manunza also works with graphite, oil pastel, charcoal and oil paint on paper.

Mascia Manunza, Gathering Clouds (from maps of the world). Image: www.l-l-s.com

Mascia Manunza, Articulation #3, 2007. Image: www.l-l-s.com