Echo These Words to Strangers, Opening June 14

Luke Whitlatch and Faris McReynolds met as BFA students at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles in 1998. “Since then, we have shared studios together, played in bands together, and had many discussions about what it takes to make a good painting,” says Whitlatch. Despite this common ground, the two artists are worlds apart stylistically. Whitlatch, a Wyoming native now based in Asheville, tends toward wildly nonrepresentational work inspired by traditional ideas of composition and color theory as well as slippery concepts like spirituality. “I draw from stories of the things that we thought we saw and translate them into abstract portraits and landscapes,” he tells Asheville Made. Meanwhile, California-based McReynolds leans toward a loose narrative style with high saturation and bold contrast. “I’ve lived in Los Angeles for most of my life. Most of the things I’ve made have been inspired by life here — the light, the landscape, the movies,” he says. Echo These Words to Strangers, a duo show opening at Tracey Morgan Gallery this June, will riff on the artists’ differences and shared history. “This show is about two very different ways to go about making a painting,” says Whitlatch.