Are children really as innocent and harmless as they might first appear? In the world of Kathie Olivas, the answer clearly is “No!”

Working in oils on wood or canvas, Tampa-based Olivas presents a surreal world of disarmingly “aware” little people and she has brought that world to Pittsburgh with her solo-show “Cadaverous Mob” on view at Blue Ruin Gallery.

Clearly children, but evoking a sense of adult knowledge and vices, her paintings of quirky little kids are designed to put you on edge and reflect an environment of isolation, fear and uncertainty in what she calls a “satirical look at how fear affects our sense of reality.”

ARTIST: KATHIE OLIVAS ⎮ COUNTRY: TAMPA/FLORIDA/US ⎮ WEB: www.miserychildren.com