Edie Fake, Shell Game 3, 2024
Acrylic and gouache on wood panel
16 × 12 × 2 inches
Small painting on panel with abstract shell-like patterns set off by careful line gradients that create a neon glow from afar. Neon yellow and magenta but also taupe and coral, muddier colors that nonetheless seem luminescent — is set off by black areas that suck in the light. Fake carefully stripes the edges of his panels, makes the paintings feel like artifacts from a glamorous vintage casino. His earlier work explored architecture as a way of expressing trans identity; these panels carry that forward, articulating a queer space without reference to location.