Mark Stockton: General Index

Through May 27

Vox Populi Gallery

By Kip Deeds

Mark Stockton’s exhibit is about what gets included, and this paradoxically makes one consider what gets excluded. Two-thirds of the exhibit is focused on matching people of accomplishment to specific color-coded categories. The categories are similar to those found in the board game Trivial Pursuit. Although Stockton’s inventory of notables inevitably has limits, the exhibit feels comprehensive because the details of the installation are well conceived (e.g. the shelving and display of his digital studies).

What stands out is the deftness of the drawing (the paintings involve a hatch mark approach akin to drawing) and the way animals are connected to character types in graphite drawings that appear related but separate from the color work. Although sourced from photographs, the detailed drawing style elevates the prominence of the figures. Despite Stockton’s skilled draftsmanship, his process of following photographs can at times feel automatic because his precise, programmatic drawing takes precedence over wider invention. Nonetheless, the care with which this exhibit is assembled is its general and abundant strength.

Kip Deeds is an artist and blogger living in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.