Rogue Taxidermy: A look back at the incredible artwork of Catherine Coan

Catherine Coan was a huge hit at the 2016 L.A. Art Show in downtown Los Angeles -making it into many popular best of lists. A few years before she had made a huge splash as an Official Selection at the 2011 South by Southwest film festival with a short "The Canary Suicides" featuring her artwork. In 2012, the Canary Suicides was on display at the Lois Lambert Gallery. We are thrilled to welcome her back after such an amazing run at the L.A. Art Show and excited to showcase her new work.

The L.A. art show is an annual event showcasing  some of the most up and coming artist from Los Angeles and around the world. Coan's installation was described in the Buzzfeed Ten Must-See Picks at the 2016 L.A. Art Show as "...a parlor of curiosities and strange beasts—all ethically sourced taxidermy—for a disturbingly elegant installation." Another reviewer, CBS Los Angeles called it "eerie and amusing, this is one exhibit not to miss." In "10 booths that caught our eye" published by Art Pin, they describe the installation as "macabre yet a humorous feast for the senses."

The short film which garnered so much attention at SXSW was directed by Natalia Provatas and Valerian Zamelbased. In the film, a story is created by examining the narra

tive established by the composition in her imaginative works. An Artist Spotlight by Movies in Los Angeles explained the film saying "It’s thecharming little tale of cute fuzzy yellow birdies… chirp… chirp chirp… that off themselves… chirp… chirp… KA-CH… in more than one way… BOOM. Tee hee.  Yep, now you know what I’m talking about." This piece was a Short of the Week for Arts +Labor, an Official Selection at the Cleveland International Film Festival and an Audience Selection at the Hollyshorts Film Festival. The teaser for the film can be viewed here.

The last time she exhibited at the Lois Lambert Gallery the Canary Suicides were featured as a meditation on captivity and the relationship between death and delight. Each Canary suicide contained hidden money, a suicide note and a pet owned by the resident canary. In a Fabrik Art Design Architecture article about the exhibition it was described as "The entrapment and isolation of the individual’s future exacerbate feelings of despair ending in suicidal actions."