Linda Hodges Gallery opens exhibition of paintings by Samuel Blatt
(Artdaily.org)

Samuel Blatt’s latest series, Peers, is on view at Seattle’s Linda Hodges Gallery. Inspired by several thousand inherited photographs taken in Japan and California during the Korean war, Blatt’s newest collection of paintings showcases peer relationships between American soldiers and civilians during times of leisure and inactivity. While the scenes throughout Peers look friendly at first glance, the photographs that the paintings are based on were taken less than 10 years after World War II. With this historical lens, viewers are left to wonder about lingering tensions from the recent war in Japan and how those dynamics might have shaped the relationships depicted in the series. Though inspired by real photographs, Blatt allowed himself to edit the images and effect the meaning throughout the series. Blatt’s Technique aims to show the viewer where