OUTSIDE LA: Natalie Strait

In “Monsoon Season,” her first ever New York solo show, on view at Charles Moffett, Natalie Strait presents new paintings of women that explore climate change, gender, queer culture and the experience of being a woman today. The women in Strait’s paintings are all shown alone or in pairs. Every figure is depicted topless, though this fact seems almost inconsequential. Their bare chests are not exaggerated or made to draw attention, but rather normalized and presented with the same straightforward, matter-of-fact treatment as the rest of their bodies. Strait’s subjects derive from media and popular culture. She takes inspiration from the long legacy of the female body being put on display for consumption. From vintage photography to Playboy to advertisements and social media of today, the image of the female body has been objectified and consumed. The works in the show seek to break down some of the tropes and visual cues used to create identity. Reclaiming the male gaze, Strait avoids over-sexualizing or objectifying her figures. Rather, she navigates the complexities of being a woman who is at once confident and vulnerable.