The first of three curated, guest artist exhibitions in Knight Arts grantee Vox Populi‘s 2011-12 program, December’s exhibit through its critical take on abstraction, art-world fame and fictional narrative.

Michael May presents “Ten Valiant Efforts,” which are paintings created under the premise that they were really painted by some sort of unreliable narrator. The fictional character’s name is Samuel Hambone and to flesh out this character, May took the Enneagram Personality Test. According to the test, he is a “Type 5,” which means he has a great desire and capacity to assimilate information. However, he also has developed schizoid personality disorder, in which he has a heightened self-worth, which leads to his concoction of his persona, in which he believes he is solving some of the world’s big problems. The canvases themselves are divided into boxes and depict strange experiments in a highly realistic fashion and sometimes esoteric references in words.

Artist Dan Levenson’s back-story for “SKZ Student Monochrome Workshop,” which tells the story of an artist collective called Little Switzerland torn between their desire for individuality while conforming to their strict modernist standards. Many of the canvases look as if they are in the midst of being prepared and organized for some other show. His work is a parody of contemporary artist collectives, as well as old school names, such as Bauhaus.

Metal stands or mounts are the pieces designed by Todd Baldwin for his show “you took this out of context.” The mounts are mostly used to hold gallery trash and handmade objects. It appears as if, like Levenson’s fictional artists preparing for a show, Baldwin’s curators are desperately trying to prepare their gallery in time. Fixtures and paper come across as hurried and twisted, calling to mind last-minute prep and impermanence. In many ways, this is another critique of the art world and contemplates value and juxtaposition.

Michael Van Winkle’s paintings are varied and unruly, calling to mind a process which is not only difficult to put a finger on but also consciously incongruent. Certain images, like skulls of vases, will carry through to multiple paintings, but the process is otherwise obscure. These common objects reorganize themselves in the loose associations on his canvases and serve as both a reference to point to reality, as well as to each other.

Fictional artists paired with the preparation for a nonexistent show within the context of a real show are just a few of the meanderings you can find at Vox Populi. If worse comes to worst, these images can all be taken at face value instead of trying to follow the sometimes maddening conceptual underpinnings. Either way, the show runs until Dec. 30, although the gallery is closed on Dec. 24 through 25.

Vox Populi Gallery is located at 319 N. 11th St. on the 3rd Floor; 215-238-1236.