Stars, Subverted

Harry Potter is out of the closet and on view at Spinello Gallery in “Thank You Come Again,” Hackworth Ashley’s solo debut. Opening tonight at 7:00, the Tennessee native’s exhibit features a controversial series of paintings that landed him in hot water at the Savannah College of Art and Design...

By Carlos Suarez De Jesus

January 11, 2007

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Harry Potter is out of the closet and on view at Spinello Gallery in “Thank You Come Again,” Hackworth Ashley’s solo debut. Opening tonight at 7:00, the Tennessee native’s exhibit features a controversial series of paintings that landed him in hot water at the Savannah College of Art and Design. While he was creating his bizarre imagery of celebrities packing turgid erections erupting with magical rainbows, dream catchers, and gems, educators put the kibosh on the artist, threatening him with suspension and censoring his work.

“They locked up the paintings in a closet,” Ashley laments of his naughty makeovers of Bill Cosby and Mary-Kate Olsen. “I couldn’t work on them, and Pizza Potter was vandalized. I’ve repaired it as best I can, but the effects of it being defaced are still visible.” In the piece, the young wizard floats in space with a bloody boner and a wedge of pepperoni pie. Harry is on his knees, and a radiant rainbow spews from his magic wand as if he just had his way with the savory slice. It’s Ashley’s ode to the sticky scene from American Pie.
Jan. 13-Feb. 3, 7 p.m.

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