“WYSIWYG: Recent Paintings,” an exhibition of new work by Michael Farrell will be featured at a First Friday reception February 2 from 5-8 p.m. at WallSpace-LNK, 1624 S. 17th Street, Lincoln. Regular gallery hours are Friday-Sunday, 12-5 p.m. through February 25.

A spirit of playfulness emanates from these new paintings that feature “universal” symbols rendered in unexpected colors and backgrounds. Common expressions are reframed in plays on words or puns in some of the works’ titles, adding to the sense of whimsy.  “Pair-o-Dice,” and “Phone Home” are among works on display. 

Farrell’s work is inspired in part by the symbols and words his father and grandfather inscribed over decades on gravestones in the family monument business. Those mostly religious symbols expressed comforting messages about the deceased for generations to come. “Now,” Farrell noted, “electronic media have made many prosaic symbols ubiquitous, but how they’re presented has a big impact on what they mean and how they’re interpreted.”

The bursts of color are offered as an antidote to winter’s gray. Viewers are invited to consider the artist’s idiosyncratic renditions of familiar symbology and determine for themselves if “what you see is what you get.”

In addition to the First Friday opening, works are available for viewing and purchase Friday-Sunday 12-5 p.m., February 2 -25 or by appointment (text to 402-429-3684). More information at wallspace-lnk.com or Facebook.