Continuing through March 23, 2013
Since the late 1970s, the practice of Chicago sculptor Diane Simpson has merged the visual languages of architecture and fashion. Always with a focus on the domestic and the vernacular, Simpson isolates the structure of clothing, creating rigid forms using utilitarian materials. Vests, bibs and collars of MDF, foam board, cardboard and aluminum are abstracted, often splayed open and geometrical: a combination of aesthetic and material that retains the aura of functionality, even though wearability is not an option.
In works like "Tunic (folded)" and "Cape (SL)," the means of construction is visible with planes of foam board neatly joined at the seams with adhesive and spunbound polyester. Simpson opts for crayon rather than paint to color the works, the gentle rubbing of the medium revealing the subtle texture of the papery surface. As a result of this insightful craftsmanship, Simpson’s works succeed in highlighting the material and transcending it at the same time.
