Unchained.Art Contemporary Gallery presents you should eat a burger, a solo exhibition by Austin-based artist Erin Carle.
Drawing from her background in ballet and the culture of discipline and comparison that shaped it, Carle uses food as both subject and symbol, turning an everyday phrase into the conceptual center of a new body of work. Burgers, layered textures, and stylized figures open onto larger questions of self-worth, desire, shame, and control. Bright color and visual play demand attention, while the work reveals something sharper underneath: the casual cruelty embedded in how women are judged.
“Food stands in for both desire and shame, humor and criticism. Through painting, sculpture and video, I use the absurdity of food as a symbol to question the serious and sometimes cruel standards placed on bodies, especially women’s.” — Erin Carle
Carle’s visual language has evolved from earlier explorations of optical surrealism into a more stylized figurative approach. Spanning painting and ceramic, you should eat a burger is visually immediate and conceptually grounded, marking a significant moment in Carle’s evolving practice.
