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October Issue 2005
Joie Lassiter Gallery in Charlotte, NC, Features Works by Shaun Cassidy and Ross Bleckner
The Joie Lassiter Gallery in Charlotte, NC, proudly presents two new exhibitions including: Shaun Cassidy Interiors and Ross Bleckner: Sequences. Both exhibits will be on view from Oct. 7 - 29, 2005.
Shaun
Cassidy
Shaun Cassidy, who has exhibited at the Columbia Museum of Art, Franconia Sculpture Park in Minnesota and has work in the collections of the DeCordova Museum & Sculpture Park and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Marseilles, will be exhibiting sculptures from his new body of work, Interiors.
Intended to stimulate emotional memories, these small ceramic sculptures explore and intensify the psychological resonance of everyday objects by divorcing them from their original contexts and recreating the objects in an unexpected material. Using soft toy animals, Cassidy at once preserves and destroys through his process, soft becomes hard, impermanent becomes permanent and objects normally associated with movement, energy and color become inert and in most cases monochromatic transforming the toys into hard, delicate shells.
Complex interior forms are revealed when the soft toys' stuffing is removed and the bodies sliced into. These unexpected interiors take on references to both the body and to characteristics of the landscape, particularly caves. Interested in recording the passage of time and exploring the history of activity and nostalgia inherent within objects, Cassidy draws parallels between these objects and the mysterious and enduring structure of memories. These sculptures attempt to engage the viewer by creating a link to their own experience of objects, time and material, and requiring them to see it in a fresh context. These works express both the joy and sadness of the impermanence of the present moment.
Ross
Bleckner
The gallery is also presenting works by well-known New York artist, Ross Bleckner. Initially gaining fame in the 1980's for his groundbreaking work addressing AIDS, Bleckner continues to create engaging non-objective work.
Bleckner has had an impressive career since his inclusion in the Whitney Biennial in 1975. His art has been seen in solo and group exhibitions all over the world including a major retrospective held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 1995. Bleckner's work can be found in the collections of many major museums including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
At once energized and ethereal, Bleckner's works are composed of repeating, overall patterns. The dot plays a large role in his images and this element is employed in variations of size and color. The shapes are often confined by blurred or smudged black contours. The optical effect can be one reminiscent of a biology slide under a microscope.
Bleckner is known for addressing the issue of AIDS in his works throughout the 1980's. While his newer work may not emanate the same sense of loss, the element of human biology still permeates his non-figurative compositions.
For further information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 704/373-1464 or at (www.lassitergallery.com).
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