Life Bearings | Bedlam & Balance
Georgia Scherman Projects, Toronto; Art Yard, New Jersey
2016
"Drawing on her experiences living in the West Coast, Carly Butler’s work looks at themes of physical and psychological survival. “Certain mistakes are of frequent occurrence” is a truly striking work of resin that takes the form of an anchor and suspends in mid air. When met by the suns rays from the overhead skylight, it appears illusory. A sense of longing is established for something or someone to swoop down, grab hold of us, and assume the weight that often feels too heavy to bear."
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Life Bearings
Carly Butler, Hyang Cho, Elsa Mora, Vessna Perunovich and Anila Rubiku
Curated by Magda Gonzalez-Mora
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 8, 6-8pm
Runs through Saturday, October 8, 2016
For different reasons, shifting their place of origin will set the destiny of five female artists: Vessna Perunovich, Anila Rubiku, Elsa Mora, Hyang Cho and Carly Butler (respectively born in Serbia, Albania, Cuba, Korea and Canada).
The physical distance between their places of birth is not an obstacle when exploring certain instants in time that question the limits between the absent and the present, between weakness and strength.
The exhibition examines existential and autobiographical elements: these elements attract us not only because of their emotional power in perceiving reality but also because of their acceptance - and modification - of it. The drawings, unique impressions, objects, sculptures and videos weave ambivalent stories that loop in private or collective scenarios. Shrewdly, each of these five artists conceives a non-conventional conceptual narrative that revisits the past, scavenges the present and alerts us to the future of human conduct.
By Magda Gonzalez-Mora, 2016
Excerpt from Exhibition Essay
Bedlam and Balance
Eight Artists from Four Continents
Dec 10, 2016—Mar 5, 2017
Bedlam and Balance draws attention to the struggles of individuals to find their own balance, rebuild after the earth has shifted, or forge a new path through uncertain terrain.
Eight female artists examine existential and autobiographical elements, drawing from disparate origins in Albania, Canada, Cuba, Iran, Korea, Guatemala, and Serbia. In the wake of a surreal election and in an era when the diasporas of far-flung continents are both accessible and remote, Bedlam and Balance offers visions of fear and displacement, refuge and restoration. The drawings, installations, objects, poems, sculptures, and videos in this exhibition weave together personal and collective narratives that revisit the past, scavenge the present and suggest shrewd, hopeful, and vulnerable approaches to the road ahead.
Magda Gonzalez-Mora.
https://artyard.org/exhibitions/bedlam-and-balance/
