As we know, ‘morphology’ is the study of structures. Salcedo-Watson’s art is no different. The images in this show present views of the internal structure of the human body, not as seen with x-ray or other scientific or medical imaging devices, but as felt, as experienced and as imagined. Spinal columns, rib cages and pelvises play a large role in the imagery, though the structures appear distorted, convulsive, twisted, due to movement, pain, anxiety or ecstasy. The forms presented are intended to be a rethinking of the body. No longer merely a physical form, now an ideal (or idea-l) form, the ideas Salcedo-Watson has about her own body and the body of others as felt, as lived. Continue reading “Lorena Salcedo-Watson: ‘Morphologies’”

Here. Where is here? Is here a place? A state of mind? When we go ‘there,’ we always end up ‘here;’ yet always, everywhere, I am here and you are there. So where or what is ‘here’? Marinelli’s drawings ask these questions. As a group, the drawings depict landscapes- fallen trees, groups of twigs, meandering streams and heavy rounded boulders- though exactly where these landscapes exist is left to the viewer’s imagination. While suggesting places or landscapes, the drawings also show situations, bodies and memories. Continue reading “Amy Marinelli: ‘here: recent drawings’”

‘Sturm und Drang’ (Storm and Stress), for those who may be unfamiliar with the term, was a cultural movement in the late eighteenth century, built around the desire for freedom of expression and the primacy of instinct and impulse. Members of the group, including Goethe and Lavater, were hostile to rules and reason, and contemptuous of cultural norms, polite manners and social refinements. The movement stressed the importance of inspiration, inner vision and unconscious drives. Given this limited understanding of the movement, LaTocha’s style and intent become clearer. A sense of storm and stress pervades these works. From the extreme variance in scale (some as small as 2 3/4 by 3 3/4 inches, others as large as 12 by 8 feet), to the seemingly violent manipulation of surface and materials, viewers find echoes of Sturm und Drang. Continue reading “Athena LaTocha: ‘Sturm und Drang’”