Betsy Odom: Color Guard

Betsy Odom investigates social constructions of gender, identity, and sexuality through her sculptural works of art. Offering a queer gaze in response to heteronormative perspectives, many of the artist’s works play on notions of “gay semiotics”—the signs, codes, and rituals that draw together and bind different LGBTQ communities. In typical Odom fashion, the artist approaches her topics with humor and open-endedness, requiring the viewer to orient themselves in relation to the work. Equally invested in material research and the tradition of extreme craft—the mixing of craft techniques like leather tooling, airbrushing, and stitching with the art formats of sculpture, painting, and drawing—Odom produces objects that aim to subvert gender roles and question how queer culture is stereotyped.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.