Feast your eyes upon the sizable and peculiar acrylic paintings that comprise fine artist Kim Vaughter’s current Volume One Gallery exhibition, “Strange Children.” Vaughter’s exhibit – on display through Aug. 25 – juxtaposes the childhood experience with that of adulthood and is packed full of unusual colors, awkward compositions, and strange proportions. All artistic elements are deliberately used and vital to the final creations. Vaughter begins a piece by creating a landscape with elements that reflect the innocence and visual stimulation through movement, repetition, and color often used in children’s books. This first layer conveys the immaturity of childhood. Vaughter then inserts the sense of maturity found in adulthood by illustrating unexpected characters – primarily monster-like creatures – and scenes into this unusual landscape. The collision of child- and adult-like components results in a striking visual dissonance. This allows for the creation of a unique space in which “Strange Children” resides, and it  invites viewers to jump in headfirst. All in all, Vaughter hopes for unique connections to be formed between the paintings that make up “Strange Children” and their viewers. While she’s based out of La Crosse, Vaughter is fairly active in the Eau Claire area (she’s a UW-Eau Claire alumna) and has participated in and received a handful of awards at Eau Claire’s annual Chalkfest. Her work is featured around the Midwest – this summer she also has a solo show in Winona, Minn. – and at a variety of La Crosse events. You can find more of her art online by checking out her portfolio at behance.net/KimVaughter.

“Strange Children” by Kim Vaughter • June 29-August 25 • The Volume One Gallery, 205 N. Dewey St. • FREE • (715) 552-0457