Diane Farris Gallery is pleased to announce a forceful new exhibition by Angela Grossmann. As a mentor to young artists and the parent of a teen, Grossmann has a keen interest in the social and psychological development of young people in today’s complex, highly-sophisticated consumer culture. Alpha Girls resonates with the emotional world of young teen girls.

Grossmann emphasizes coming-of-age themes and simultaneously holds the viewer accountable for the loss of innocence in today’s children. In large-as-life multimedia works, Grossmann captures their sense of social anxiety, the power structures and private body gestures. In several images, groups of figures huddle together, their bodies closed inwards. The more “minor” girls, fawning and tentative, surround their alpha superiors. In other works, she captures single figures in solitary moments of reflection.

Whether exhibiting beguiling charm or signaling fear and uncertainty, Grossmann’s young women are poised on the cusp of initiation into adulthood. She sketches them roughly but tenderly in black and white paint and marks their faces with chalky pinks and oranges. As she traces each figure, her impeccable drawing line reveals both the inner spirit and the outward gaze.