SAN FRANCISCO—The Oakland-based Squeak Carnwath’s text-and-image paintings telegraph a distinctly California brand of quirky lyricism. But Carnwath’s canvases, with their tragicomic allusions to the absurdities of modern life, transcend regional designations. About a dozen of her newest works are now on view at the John Berggruen Gallery, among them Checkered Thoughts, 2006-08, which contains the artist’s signature motifs: a checkerboard pattern, graffitilike notations and a repeated image of a doleful youth. "She’s very true to her style — that’s the wonderful thing," says Berggruen, who has represented Carnwath for more than 20 years. Most of the pictures are large, about six feet square, and are priced between $30,000 and $40,000. The show, Carnwath’s first solo outing at the gallery since 2004, runs March 5 through 28. A major survey of her work opens at the Oakland Museum of California on April 25.

"A Loud Squeak" originally appeared in the March 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's March 2009 Table of Contents.