Alli Good
Recommended
The Asheville-based artist creates figurative work that looks at the underbelly of sexuality and religion, and what it's like to inhabit a body, all of it delivered in bright colors and expressive, stylized form. In her self-titled show at Ballard's Push/Pull—an art/comics shop that makes for an interesting environment to look at her work—she also brings some Southern gothic to the table. The erotic is a guiding force in Good's work, but on various social-media platforms (which are essential to artists working today), many of her paintings have been censored because of their sexual nature. Instagram, Facebook, and Patreon have flagged, restricted, or completely shut down her accounts for posting painted representations of body parts, like a nipple or a penis head. What I find appealing about Good's work is that her figures always seem so aware of their own bodies, in all their nastiness and splendor. Certain bodies are constantly surveilled by both the public and the person—and in looking at Good's work, there's a freedom in the ugliness, the embracing of both flesh and rolls, droop and sexual appeal.
by Jas Keimig