LYN CARTER: Stretched July 31 - September 19, 2010 Stretched is a genre-bending exhibit featuring hybrid mixes of sculptural and textile works which take the items of everyday life and presents them in an exhilarating new way.
But recognition of the familiar undercurrents which run through Carter’s work is not a matter of simple observation. Her abstract forms are first met with an air of ambiguity, challenging our expectations for textile art. Combining a mastery of sewing and the use of provocative patterns, Carter’s fabric becomes the skin of the objects beneath it. On one hand the objects are transformed, losing all definitions. On the other hand we are compelled to look inside the fabric for a hint of familiarity. Pieces such as Droplet and Swallowing Roses certainly encapsulate this feeling; found objects and the skeleton of an antique stool conjoin with intriguing patterns resulting in re-invention; a new life form containing only a slight echo of what was. This juxtaposition between the familiar and the faint creates a stimulating dialogue between subject and object, inviting both interaction and interpretation. Each of Carter’s creations is reminiscent of female tradition but with a contemporary twist. The works are constructed out of material sometimes viewed as feminized objects because they have their origins in domestic spaces. But her creations are not domesticated at all. Their presence brings new life to the places that they inhabit; they melt corners, defy gravity, and alter the normal perspective of our daily environment. Carter’s combined use of textile and sculpture is responsible for this impression. The rigor of her sculpture clashes with the softness of fabric to create a welcome contrast between the customary and the contemporary. It is as if the objects take on a life of their own—deciding where and how they want to be; joining with other pieces, adopting new colors and placing themselves in a more appropriate space. Hence, the objects are removed from the space where we normally understand them, and become something new, which thrives in the spaces and gaps between categories. By dramatizing the ordinariness of simple material objects, Carter shows us how to take the ordinary and mundane things that surround us and engage with them on an entirely different level. Her creations ignite curiosity and compel one to consider the relationships we have with our own stuff. They make a moral statement regarding the significance and meaning of these things in our lives. In Stretched, the commonplace items which remain largely invisible within daily life brighten and then ask for interpretation—perhaps suggesting that we pay more attention to the things that we use and live with—to develop a more imaginative and creative eye.
RALPH HICKS: Entangled July 31 - September 19, 2010
The six works that make up Entangled are the centerpiece of Hicks’ exhibition. Though they follow the same theme, each stands alone in its complexity, antagonism and tension. Modeled in wax and cast in bronze, the figures are a statement of man’s strength and humanity’s weakness. One figure balances on a foot with the other leg outstretched, one mopes on the ground, another gazes straight ahead with feet firm on the ground, and all are entwined in a rope without beginning or end. As the figures attempt to loosen the tension, some get lost in despair and others remain defiant, but each figure tells a story of individual strain; the rope is a metaphor for the complexity of today’s life. Hicks’ use of bronze casting allows him to show the fine detail of the men’s faces and intensity of their body movements, while simultaneously representing strength and durability. It is obvious what Hicks wants to achieve with his work, but less obvious whether there is a distinctive answer to be found. The pieces hint toward a solution; loosen the tension here and there, and the rope may fall away. But the passion, force, concentration, focus and stress of the encumbrance erases all simplicity. Eventually, the line between aggression and oppression becomes completely blurred and one is left with a very literal and perplexing example of human struggle. In addition to the works from the Entangled series, the exhibit includes
Hicks’ renderings
of one of the most ill-omened creatures around; the crow. The life-sized black
birds stand together in small groups and pairings, each individually crafted
for uniqueness and personality out of plaster. On their own, the crows make for
a light-hearted and comical display. But stand back, and the relationship between
the looming crows and the entangled men becomes almost scavengeous. It is as
if the crows are watching over the figures, ready to swoop in at the first sign
of defeat. Whether you prefer jovial character of the crows on their own, or
the nefarious feeling that they lend to the exhibit as a whole, you will certainly
be drawn into Hicks’ entangled imagination.
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