Paul Cherwick’s dizzying array of about one hundred carved wooden heads line the walls at eye height, jutting out sans any distracting grips or mounts. Their depictions scan the gamut from a primitive man, to a guy with a beer hat, to Larry Gagosian’s head. They have that folksy-yet-sophisticated edge that’s not unfamiliar but still feels fresh here; it’s a folk art for the art world. Jodie Mohr’s oil on wood panels are semi-photorealistic interior settings in which chandeliers and warm, soft light figure prominently. The strongest painting of the bunch is of a darkened room with stacks of wooden chairs carefully rendered, the layers of back spines combining to form a web of meshy space. The background, almost black but subtly described, offers suggestions of archways, panels, and perhaps a stage. Two chandeliers hang mutely. There’s no drama here of a pre- or post-party state, it’s more of a fetishism of the objects themselves. The work speaks of the good life, with a omnipresent sense of darkness.
Published courtesy of ArtScene ©2010
