IT’S A SUBTLE MERGER OF REAL LIFE AND FICTION IMBUED WITH A DOSE OF SATIRE AND ABSURDIST HUMOR.
In the press surrounding Weyant’s work, there’s often mention of similarities to artists of the Dutch Golden Age or contemporary artists like John Currin, but that seems to be scratching the surface of possible influences or visual similarities. In “Girl in the Rain,” where the subject’s face is mostly obscured by a large, black umbrella, there are echoes of Magritte, with the pattern of raindrops in the painting bringing to mind the rain of men in “Golconda.” With “May I Have Your Attention, Please?” Weyant’s protagonist appears with rosy cheeks and big black eyes that recall not just comics and animation art, but the pop surrealism of Gary Baseman and Victor Castillo.
But often Weyant’s work appears to have more in common with film than painting. Like the directors Sofia Coppola and Anna Biller, she blends visual cues and cultural references from various decades to build narratives about women that transcend time. Her use of light and shadow in pieces like “House Exterior” and “Girl with Candlestick” evoke classic horror films, while her use of certain motifs, like mirrors, might remind viewers of filmmakers like Hitchcock and Cocteau.
Weyant’s 2019 debut solo show was titled Welcome to the Dollhouse, a nod to Todd Solondz’s mid-1990s cult classic tale of misfit middle schooler Dawn Weiner. It included a painting of a melancholy girl with tissue popping out of her bra called “Some Dolls Are Bigger Than Others,” a clear play on The Smiths song “Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others.” Two years later, Weyant contributed to Artists Inspired by Music: Interscope Reimagined, a group show at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, with a piece inspired by Gwen Stefani’s album, The Sweet Escape. The references to pop culture were a part of Weyant’s work early on in her career but appear more pronounced now. In “House Exterior,” from The Guitar Man, she depicts a dilapidated, three-story house that’s instantly recognizable from the beloved Hitchcock film Psycho. Moreover, Weyant actually built a model recalling the Bates home that served as a source of inspiration for the show, using it to play with lighting as well.
In the gallery information for this show, Weyant’s influences for The Guitar Man are noted as The Addams Family, Clue, Looney Tunes, and Playboy. The references aren’t always as obvious as in “This Is a Life?” or “House Exterior.” It’s not until you know that Clue is an influence that you might consider “Girl with Candlestick” a possible nod to the mystery-board-game-turned-1980s-cult-film where a candlestick is one of the possible murder weapons.
