Rachel Selekman
dal 20/2/2003 al 24/3/2003
Segnalato da
20/2/2003
Rachel Selekman
Priska C. Juschka Fine Art - Old location, New York
Simultaneously animal, vegetable and mineral, these sculptures hinge on a distinct notion of femininity that elides all such categories. Selekman assembles her materials - wool, vintage buttons, pocketbook frames, silk and thread - via sewing and other labor-intensive methods to invest her sculptures with the weight of utility.
SCULPTURES
Opening: Friday February 21, 2003, 6-9pm
Priska C. Juschka Fine Art is pleased to announce an
exhibition of sculpture by Rachel Selekman.
Simultaneously animal, vegetable and mineral, these
sculptures hinge on a distinct notion of femininity
that elides all such categories. Selekman assembles
her materials -- wool, vintage buttons, pocketbook
frames, silk and thread -- via sewing and other
labor-intensive methods to invest her sculptures
with the weight of utility. While the fruit borne
of this labor recalls practical objects such as
handbags or cloaks, their visceral impact depends on
these associations only insofar as both fairytales
and dreams have roots in the familiar.
The Surrealists, with their lobster telephones and
fur-lined teacups, based an entire movement on this
phenomenon. Selekman, on the other hand, visits the
same set of recurring forms, but many of them --
tendrils, tresses and flowing water -- cannily echo
her materials' gendered connotations. By
foregrounding the biology of these forms, she strips
away divisions within and between species, arriving
at something that's ultimately much more primal.
Sprouting tubes and tentacles, orifices and
invaginations, each piece reaches out in a manner
both threatening and welcoming -- equal parts
houseplant and parasite.
Selekman has created three site-specific works for
this exhibition. Emerging respectively from the
gallery's ceiling, corner, and a drain in the floor,
each one carries the tactility of her sculptures to
new heights. Taken alongside her organza lampreys
and mouth-like silk clutches, they all exude a
demure yet aggressive corporeality that captures
Selekman's engagement with the riotous power of life
force.
Rachel Selekman is a graduate of the MFA program at
the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1997
she received the Pollock-Krasner Foundation's annual
award. She currently lives and works in Brooklyn.
Image:
"Untitled" (pink purse), 2002, Pocketbook frame, chain, fabric, thread, ribbon wire and mixed media, 44 x 55 x 58 inches
Join Priska Juschka and the artist at the gallery
for an opening reception on Friday, February 21st
from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.
Gallery hours: Thursday through Monday 12:00 to 6:00
PM or by appointment.
Priska Juschka Fine Art
97 North 9th Street, (Berry Street & Wythe Ave.) Brooklyn, NY 11211
T: 718 782-4100 F: 718 782-4800