Alex Dodge

Here two sock puppets appear as performers on a dimmed stage. For Dodge, these figures reflect human behavior and emotion while questioning what is real versus fabricated. Although this painting was drawn using animation programs and executed in paint with stencils, it was also inspired by Japanese woodblock prints. Dodge learned traditional woodblock printing methods in Japan, and the fading colors in this work’s background suggest a gradated printing technique known as bokashi.

–Wai Yee Chiong, associate curatorof Asian art