Continuing through March 31, 2012
"Death and Life of an Object" is an apt title for a group of artists that animate and enliven ideas and materials with a supreme sense of purpose. The three artists include Lynn Aldrich, Laurie Frick and Tim Hawkinson, each of who eradicate the inherent meanings of the raw materials they use. Their finished products consequently take on a new life. Upon entering the exhibit, the wall-mounted pieces by Frick and Aldrich tease the viewer sensually with patterns, color and texture. Frick’s image, entitled “Walking- Week #42,” looks like an aerial map of a city grid, except these compositions are much more colorful and less organized. Reminiscent of Mondrian’s “Broadway Boogie Woogie,” it’s based upon measurements that the artist collects of her daily activities. Her steps are measured and then visually arranged on the panel.
This obsessive process compliments Aldrich’s freestanding sculpture "Hydra Hydrant," which is constructed of rain gutters. The exterior housing is surprisingly alive as the tree-like stump of the sculpture extends into a series of branches that twist and turn. The gutters appear to extend across the gallery, as each individual arm demands some sort of personification. The humble materials have a surprising amount of grandeur and conceptual weight. The initial onslaught then slows down in the second gallery, which features the work of Hawkinson. An enormous piece entitled “Foot Quilt” resembles a bed and forces an intimate encounter with an aspect of the artist’s own body. Much like entering someone’s closet, the viewer feels privileged to be in this part of the house.
