Hex Signs and Butt Plugs: Pennsylvania Dutch Perversions in Anne Buckwalter’s “Reins on a Rocking Horse” at Rachel Uffner Gallery
Posted on September 30, 2023
Bearded Amish men creating traffic jams in horse-drawn buggies. Shoofly pies, whoopie pies, and apple butter bake sales staffed by women in plain cotton dresses. Worn farmhouses adorned with painted barn stars. Wooden rockers and star-laden quilts. These are the quaint scenes that immediately come to my mind when considering the aesthetics of Pennsylvania Dutch country. Not horse tail butt plugs, flung fluid-flecked panties, and red binding ropes for some casual bondage. But, artist Anne Buckwalter’s current rewardingly filthy exhibition Reins on a Rocking Horse at Rachel Uffner Gallery has changed all that, pairing the precision of Pennsylvania Dutch folk art with sudden bursts of sleaze. Never have I wanted to visit Lancaster more.
