March / Apri 2016 - art ltd 61Above:
“Looking at the Sun,” 2016, Lynne Harlow
Acrylic paint on Plexiglas,11^1 ⁄ 2 " x 18" x^1 ⁄ 2 "
Photo: courtesy Liliana Bloch GalleryFor an experience of brilliant color in three dimensions, look no further than Lil-
iana Bloch Gallery, in the design district, where the sculpture of Lynne Harlow
will be on view this April. Harlow arrives at her minimal and spare visual vocab-
ulary through a process of reduction that suggests a kind of “less is more”
sensibility. She considers her sculptures as both objects in themselves and
as architectural interventions, in this case using the exterior wall of the gallery
as the platform to install a site-specific design. At once colorful and spare, her
pieces are intended to attract the eye in the formation of a visual dialogue that
includes the interaction of light with the pieces and the spaces they occupy.
Through the use of fluorescent plexiglass, vinyl, acrylic paint, and anodized
aluminum, Harlow designs stunning installations that channel some elements
of Minimalism and the interactive aspect of Op and Kinetic art. Visitors will
experience a visual sensation that proceeds beyond the merely static one-point
perspective in viewing art that demands to be seen through multiple lines of
site. Perhaps this may include not only walking around a particular piece, but
also inside or through it. Here, visitors to the gallery participate in a way that
completes Harlow’s project.Lynne Harlow, “Hey Sunshine,” will be on view at Liliana Bloch Gallery,
April 2 – May 7, 2016.A challenging exhibition that sets off the interplay between art and ideas
resides in the work of Sybren Renemaat Cydonia Gallery, also in the design
district. This young gallery has logged a steady track record of mounting cut-
ting edge shows by talented artists on an international scale. Renema, born
in the Netherlands, now lives and works in Glasgow; he definitely fits the
definition of a multi-disciplinary artist whose painting, drawing, video, and
installation pieces tackle historical constructs like institutions, museums,
science, and travel, through an obsession with the romantic century. Themes
drawn from 19th-century Romanticism, like dream states, ruins, decay,
hallucinogens, passion, and the bittersweet passing of time are Renema’s
playground. For this exhibition he ruminates on Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem
Kubla Khan(completed in 1797, published 1816) and the associated use of opium
that played a part in its creation. Through casting 800-1000 life-size ceramic
poppies he puts his obsession with the literature into action through large-scale
installation, sculpture, and multiples. As a whole the exhibition has an open-ended
aspect suggestive of incompletion—a reference to Coleridge’s failure to finish the
poem. Dualities are firmly at play in that the beauty of the ceramic poppies repre-
sents their promise of seductive dreams tinged with addiction and mortality.“Sybren Renema: The Harvest of Leisure,”
runs April 9 – June 4, 2016 at Cydonia Gallery.Wall-mounted, these works often evoke emotional states,
sometimes directly quoting the poetry of Robert Frost, for
example. Where Ridgway’s influence can be found in mod-
ernist sculpture, specifically Giacometti, Bowdoin’s practice
and techniques flow from the historical avant-garde’s desire
to deconstruct language and uncover new contexts. As her
work has expanded in scope in recent years, the literary text
shows up less and less directly, suggesting the clear pre-
dominance of the visual; this is a show not to be missed.
“Natasha Bowdoin: Spelboken” and “Linda Ridgway:
The Sound of Trees,” can be seen at Talley Dunn Gallery,
April 1 – May 14, 2016.
"Little Bear", 2015, Linda Ridgway
Bronze in two parts, unique, 18" x 21" x 9^1 ⁄ 2 "
Photo: courtesy of the artist and Talley Dunn Gallery
Left:
“Mountain 119,” 2014, Sybren Renema
Collage, 16^1 ⁄ 2 " x 23"
Photo: courtesy of the Artist and CYDONIA