Often characterized as a “visionary” or “outsider” artist, painter Paul Laffoley’s suite of eight complex, oversized paintings depicting the artist’s interpretation of the eight phases of Elvis Presley’s life will be shown publicly for the first time in The Life and Death of Elvis: A Suite. Completed in 1995, the images are painted in calendar format with a corresponding portrait of the singer at the top and include Laffoley’s distinctive references to arcane systems of classification such as numerology and astrology. Each painting includes a brass rod and a set of velvet drapes to either conceal or reveal Presley’s image accordingly.
Show runs through Sept. 6. Free. Carl Solway Gallery, 424 Findlay St., Over-the-Rhine, solwaygallery.com.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2014.