By Daniel Cassady, February 17, 2023 11:21am

Special Project: Kathleen Henderson, Gummed Reverse, Track 16

Spring/Break has always accomplished with ease what many galleries and so-called satellite fairs often struggle with when a behemoth outfit like Frieze rolls into town: It stands out. And it does so without the slightest hint that they were trying hard to do it. But, in a way, that’s Spring/Break’s purpose.

In New York, Spring/Break has a reputation for being over the top and, to some, overwhelming (a point one of its founders, Andrew Gori shares with a smile). This year marks the fair’s fourth edition in Los Angeles and the vibe was decidedly West Coast—Chet Baker to the New York edition’s John Coltrane.

The show was held for the second year at Skylight Culver City, a 21,000 square-foot mid-century space that gives participants and the artwork a chance to breathe. But, not to worry, the cool atmosphere didn’t take away from Spring/Break’s reputation for eccentricity.

Special Project: Kathleen Henderson, Gummed Reverse, Track 16

Kathleen Henderson, *Gummed White Solo*, 2021, oil stick and oil on paper, 27 x 39 inches

While Spring/Break is known for booths and installations chosen by curators or artists, there were rare instances when a gallery would show work under the umbrella title Special Project. Los Angeles gallery Track 16 dedicated their booth to the artist Kathleen Henderson.

Once based in Oakland, Henderson taught at the Center for Creative Growth, an art school for developmentally different and mentally disabled artists. Recently she moved to New Jersey to start a similar program called Studio Route 29.

The paper and oil stick works are informed by mythology and her formative years in the lush woods of Massachusetts. The figures are simple, but Henderson’s deft ability with line and color bring an emotional heft to the faces and movements of the people in her drawings.