Dana Reifler: The Rough and the Smooth
Jan. 16 – May 18
Villa Julie College
St. Paul Companies Pavilion
The work in this exhbit was made by cutting out huge chunks of drywall and using joint compound and plaster to put it all back together – very “process-oriented.” The artist occasionally adds a line or two in with oil crayon and then slathers more white stuff over that, too. Then, she puts delicate cut paper grids and skeletons on top, which hover, with more goo slathered over them in some cases and in others no, so they make really amazing shadows as they dangle over the white surfaces.
There’s another piece that weighs something like 800 pounds, which is an actual wall with cut marks in it. Or is it 8 feet by 8 feet and weighs 300 pounds? Either way, this piece is very monolithic, very monumental. Huge, even, with subtle and elegant texture that makes simple ‘boat’ or vessel looking shapes. This piece had to be shipped to North Carolina for a show and then back again. Making art (and especially shipping it) is hard work.
Go see this show! It’s up through May. And if I can get a hold of the essay by noted surgeon and poet Michael Salcman I will post it! (co)
