Parliament of Fowl

Lacy M. Freeman

February 5th - March 6th, 2020

Parliament of Fowl is a solo exhibition by Lacy M. Freeman presented by The Artifice in Atlanta, GA.

Through paintings and works on paper ranging from intimate individual studies to larger gatherings of birds, Freeman explores color, character, and the quiet narrative possibilities of animal portraiture.

Described by the artist as abbreviated moments from a dream, the works form a romantic vision of birds calling and the approach of spring.

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Lacy M. Freeman

Parliament of Fowl gathers a flock of birds suspended somewhere between observation, memory, and dream.

Lacy M. Freeman moves between intimate studies of individual species and larger paintings in which birds gather, call, perch, or unfold across the canvas. Cardinals, finches, cranes, and herons remain recognizable, but Freeman's use of softened forms, unexpected color, and expressive mark-making moves the work away from strict naturalism and toward something more personal.

Freeman described each painting in the collection as “an abbreviated moment from my own dream”—part of a romantic vision in which birds are calling and spring is approaching. That sense of anticipation runs throughout the exhibition. The birds appear caught in brief moments: perched alone, assembled along a wire, wings extended, or turned toward one another as though engaged in exchanges we cannot hear.

Across works large and small, Freeman treats each animal as an individual presence rather than simply a representative of its species. Color and gesture give the birds character while the restrained environments around them leave space for the viewer to encounter each subject directly.

Parliament of Fowl ultimately operates as a collection of fleeting encounters—a painted gathering shaped by the rhythms of birds, the return of spring, and the fragmentary logic of a remembered dream.