Jesse Mockrin, “Marks Of A Stranger”

Mockrin brings Old Master tradition up to date with disjunctive canvases (as in a group of diptych panels that seemingly meld together, though, in fact, they depict parts of disparate scenes) rendered in the classical style of late-17th century “Poussinist” painting. Most of the work is populated by female figures wearing Greco-Roman robes, with almost all of them holding daggers to their chests. It’s unclear whether they’re about to commit suicide or just pretending to—a metaphor, perhaps, for the way women can internalize the violence perpetrated against them.