Art Review The artist’s mixed messages suggest a deep skepticism about the ability of language to adequately express human experience. April 24, 2026 — 5 min read Alice Tippit, "Share" (2020), oil on canvas (courtesy Friendly Frames) CHICAGO — I often felt like I was undergoing psychological testing while visiting Rose Obsolete , Alice Tippit’s solo exhibition at the DePaul Art Museum. The show includes a trio of murals, a neon sign, and an extensive set of word drawings, but its core is made up of 23 smallish oil paintings that function not unlike a Rubin’s vase or one of the other ambiguous images developed by Gestalt psychologists in the early 20th century. Do you see a rabbit or a duck, two faces or a candlestick, a young woman or a crone, the therapist asks, and the answer says something not only about human perception but also about you.  Tippit, who was born in 1975 outside of Kansas City and has lived in Chicago since 2006, makes pictures that look deceptively simple.…