Holly Johnson Gallery will present the opening of William Betts: "A Man, A Plan, The Full Moon, - Yucatán," an exhibition of recent large scale stencil paintings by the California-based artist.

The exhibition is a highly personal reflection on the artist’s Mérida and Yucatán adventure. Several works in the show are from photos he took as a young boy in 1974 visiting Merida. Fast forward 50 years, one weekend several years ago, he went back to Mérida and fell in love with the place. The memories of the childhood trip seemed fresh. The city had changed but remained hauntingly the same. The warmth of the people, the city’s historic colonial legacy, vibrant food, arts culture, and surrounding archaeological sites made it the perfect environment for his creative endeavors.

The eight works are from his series of stencil paintings. Using his own proprietary software Betts’ deconstructs his own historical images to create large scale photographic stencils set within the framework of a pixel grid. Rooted in craft and street art, stenciling is both accessible and relatable typically used to quickly communicate a picture and used multiple times over. Betts upends this notion and creates something that is technically complex and visually sublime.

Following the opening reception, the exhibit will be on display through May 4.