The Dog, the Valley, and the Journey

Charlie Masson and Celeste Morton

PUTTY'S CORONATION is pleased to announce the opening of The Dog, the Valley, and the Journey, a two-person exhibition featuring the work of Charlie Masson and Celeste Morton at Putty's Coronation, 483 17th St, 4B, Brooklyn, NY 11215, from January 11th, 2025 to March 2nd, 2025. The opening reception will be held on Saturday, January 11th, 2025 from 5 PM to 9 PM.

The Dog, the Valley, and the Journey presents two artists who engage with subjects in the history of painting to explore the essence of painting itself. Charlie Masson and Celeste Morton reinterpret traditional genres with distinctive approaches, creating works that investigate the interplay of form, texture, and expression. For both artists, their subjects—landscapes and animals—act as conduits for exploring broader human narratives, transforming familiar imagery into vessels of deeper meaning. Rather than simply presenting landscapes or animals as static subjects, both Masson and Morton use them as dynamic starting points for painterly exploration.

Together, their works engage in a broader conversation about the act of painting as an expressive medium. By drawing from tradition, they highlight how these subjects can transcend their representational purposes and become catalysts for visual exploration. In L'Ultima Spiaggia, Masson evokes the serene yet transient horizon of the seaside, with dynamic layering that bridges abstraction and representation. Through forms of color and gesture, Masson’s work uses landscapes as a foundation to explore the material possibilities of paint. In the painting Dog and Hunter, Morton depicts a spotted dog crouching amidst lush greenery, blending figuration with surreal abstraction to create an introspective narrative of movement and solitude. As in Gustave Courbet’s Hunting Dog with Dead Hare, where the animal becomes a central figure of reflection and emotional resonance, Morton works delve into the symbolic and psychological roles animals play, serving as personifications of human characteristics.

In an era increasingly dominated by digital and conceptual art forms, The Dog, the Valley, and the Journey serves as a reminder of the enduring relevance of painting as a medium. For Masson and Morton, this tradition is not merely a historical artifact but a living, breathing practice that continues to evolve. Their work underscores the tactile immediacy of paint, the subtle interplay of light and color, and the profound capacity of the medium to capture both the physical and intangible aspects of life.

Celeste Morton (b.1990) is a painter based in Brooklyn, NY. She received her BA in film theory from the University of Vermont and her MFA in painting from the University of Delaware (2018). Most recently her work has been shown in Philadelphia at Automat Gallery, Tusk in Chicago, Nails Salon Gallery in Brooklyn, and WolfGang Gallery in Atlanta. She co-curated the show Animal People at Tappeto Volante Projects in Gowanus, Brooklyn (2023). In 2024 she participated in CowHouse Studios Artist Residency in Wexford County Ireland and was an artist in residence at Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts.

Charlie Masson (b.1987) is a native New Yorker, based in Rome, Italy. He received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he studied figurative painting under the guidance of perceptual painter, Marion Kryczka. He continued his postgraduate studies at The Royal Drawing School in London and Camberwell College of Arts, where he completed a Master’s degree in printmaking.