A selection of paintings by Minneapolis-based artist Emma Beatrez, the most intriguing of which examine prototypical cheerleaders and the spectacle of small town pep-rally bonfires. The dark energy present in the work is perfectly summed up in this statement from “Polyester”, their recent exhibition at Hair + Nails:

“Clad in polyester vestments, extremely flammable, Beatrez’s priestesses speed through their sportive katas in ecstatic trance, a choreography of escalating risk, summoning danger, the adrenaline surging, melding individuals into group, their eyes glinting in the camera flash or the fire, and a fairly ordinary secular tradition transmogrifies into an otherworldly ritual emblematic of America’s conflicted priorities.”

Beatrez is a graduate of Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the co-founder and curator of Night Club gallery in St. Paul, alongside artist Lee Noble.