Continuing through October 30, 2010
Ester Partegás is a Spanish (born in Barcelona) artist now living in Brooklyn, NY whose past work has been concerned with consumer culture and advertising. In her current show she has wallpapered the gallery walls with floor to ceiling black and white images of graffiti strewn facades that recreate the grit of the urban environment. Hung on top of the black and white backgrounds are colorful images that at first glance appear to be torn wall posters. They are in fact collages made from magazine pages. The scale and size shift - what was assumed to be large, but what is in fact small creates meaning through juxtaposition.
The fact that we are not looking at the detritus of urban communication, but a carefully composed abstraction, devoid of language meant to simulate the sensation because it is hung against the wallpaper, elevates Partegás installation from a formal to a conceptual investigation. The idea of double-take is further explored in her sculptures of pizza boxes and plants covered by plastic bags, again seemingly the real thing, yet obviously hand made. Also on view are numerous works on paper in which Partegás images vibrant packaging for consumer products devoid of product labels. Like in her previous installations, Partegás' work incorporates sculpture, drawing and photographic processes to speak to what is seen in abundance in contemporary culture.
Christopher Grimes Gallery
