In Gallery I, Goldfinch proudly presents Pluto, a solo exhibition of new oil paintings from Chicago-based artist Jessie Mott. Pluto marks Mott’s first solo exhibition at Goldfinch.

Pluto sees Mott returning to painting after a period spent focusing on animation, drawing and works on paper, and ceramics. She summons the powers of Pluto—astrology’s spookiest planet—in this, her latest body of animal-human hybrids. “Pluto’s mystique, beyond being a distant object in space, represents transformation and something unknowable, mysterious,” says Mott, whose work explores the permeable boundaries between male and female, and animal and human. With their alien anatomies, the queer creatures splattered throughout Pluto transgress the confines of external realities, perceptions, and judgments. “Queens, mentors, mothers—figures revered, feared, and desired—embody a complexity that invites viewers to locate themselves in the flux of what is ethereal and what is tangible,” says Mott, comparing her portraits to the dark magic of folk stories and fairy tales.

Like Pluto, Mott’s work preoccupies itself with power dynamics, sexuality, and the vulnerabilities that follow. In this exhibition, her work slyly hints at the myth of Proserpina, the Roman goddess of spring, and Pluto, the god of the underworld, after whom the dwarf planet is named. Cupid’s arrow sets the story in motion, piercing the heart of Pluto, who kidnaps Proserpina, holding her hostage in the underworld for six months of the year. During these months, the ground hardens and the air grows cold. When Proserpina returns to Earth, spring and summer follow. The myth of Proserpina, or Persephone, as her Greek counterpart is known, symbolizes the eternal cycle of death and rebirth. Like many classic resurrection stories, Mott’s Pluto embraces death as the driving force behind radical transformation and spiritual awakening.

Jessie Mott: Pluto runs June 15 through July 27, 2024. The exhibition’s opening reception takes place on Saturday, June 15th from 2-5pm. Related public programs are as follows:

Saturday, June 22nd: Jessie Mott Gallery Hang; the artist will be present in the gallery for casual chats and to answer visitors’ questions.

Saturday, July 13th at 1pm: Jessie Mott in Conversation with Lauren Leving, Independent Curator

All events are free and open to the public.

Artist’s Bio:

Jessie Mott is a Chicago-based visual artist whose work spans an array of media, including drawing, painting, and collaborative projects. Her practice focuses on themes of identity and power by exposing unstable perceptions of the queer body. Mott’s work has been exhibited widely, including in the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the 2014 Whitney Biennial (Steve Reinke with Jessie Mott).

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