Art is beautiful and decorative, but art is also challenging, socially aware and ever-evolving. Yellow Peril Gallery, which opened late last year at The Plant in Olneyville, uses art to encourage social discourse on difficult topics. “Yellow Peril is not afraid to display work that takes a critical look at our society as a whole and how we are continuously influenced – negatively or positively – by the people, places and events that take place around us,” explains gallery director Vanphouthon Souvannasane. “Our goal is to ignite conversations long after people have left the gallery, and to engage with people about the influence of pop culture in our society.” The current exhibition, Love and Equality, comprises photography by Natalie Gruppuso that shows the faces of same-sex marriage and runs through July 15. (Many of those faces are Rhode Island residents). Yellow Peril also hosted #OCCUPY earlier this year, which featured artwork inspired by the Occupy movement and saw 500 attendees. As part of that social awareness, the gallery requires that artists donate 10% of sales from their show to a nonprofit of their choosing. Vanphouton also encourages artists to use the gallery to host fundraisers during their shows. As he says, “social responsibility is an integral part of our DNA at Yellow Peril Gallery.”
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