SPY Projects presents MASSHOLE, a solo exhibition of work by Mia Scarpa, on view April 23rd - May 13th. The opening reception will be held on April 22nd, from 7-10pm, at 3709 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016

Localized idiosyncrasies play a significant role in how individuals identify themselves with place of origin or residence. The edges of who is what are blurry, and subject to the whims of personal experience: a San Franciscan decries the superficiality of Angelinos, while the Angelino sneers at gun-toting evangelicals in Texas, and the Texan laments the fate of her home town as holier-than-thou residents from the aforementioned cities move to her state in droves. Culturally flavored identities take on a distinctly absurd character, endowing the benign peculiarities that differentiate two localities with the spiritual stakes of sectarian conflict. Each perspective is composed of half truths and assumptions, drawing from a loosely defined cultural vibe.

The flexibility of this vibe, however, occasionally makes space for a mutual appreciation that resonates on a deep and intimate level. Regional identities are shaped and reshaped through a recurring cycle of identification and re-definition. Old standards of self recognition are replaced by new and more prescient touchstones, as artistic practice contends with the natural entropy of American life.

This brings us to painter Mia Scarpa, MASSHOLE, and the culturally fecund lands to our northeast. Scarpa’s work stems from her upbringing in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Her paintings hover at the intersection of familiarity and place in a mad-quilting of colloquial symbols inflected with the totemic memery of the Online. A circus of disembodied objects and images echoes the fractured visual experience of digital media. Immediately recognizable references are paired with the obscure and specific: nationally syndicated cartoons brush shoulders with quiet nods to Lake Life; a pixelated video game character is backgrounded by Dunkin Donuts. In this context, Masshole is understood to be a term of pride and affection, encompassing the landscapes of youth and place that formed the artist’s sensibilities. Masshole is an ode to being seen at the strip mall. Skaters, tattoos, tough guy poses for selfies, pixelated video game characters, and Dunkin Donuts. Scarpa’s idiosyncratic works emanate from an impassioned core identity, like scattered quadrants of the hearth.