Ok, from now on I am going to stop saying that I am not crazy about abstract art, because I keep finding myself being drawn to it, liking it and talking about it a lot more. I think for the record, I don't like work that looks like "junk", has no understandable point, is not innovative or conceptual in some way and is only 2-dimensional in a figurative sense. All those things don't apply here....
I went to Priska C. Juska in Chelsea recently to see the second show of works by Rosemarie Fiore and loved it. I had also seen the first one there as well back in the Spring of 2009. For me these "paintings" or "drawings" made by fireworks aren't just about abstraction - its formal qualities and the gorgeous colors of the complete work - but also about the process, process, process!! For me, the act of making this work is as important as the finished result.
The artist, both in the current show and in the last show, uses a variety of household tools (empty cans, plastic containers, broom handles, wooden boards, etc) to direct, control and "draw" or "paint" with lit fireworks on paper. It appears that she "colors" the paper with the residue and smoke of the lit firework and then also adds collaged pieces that she has also colored with firework on top creating striking, multi-colored asymmetrical arrangements.
The works are large in scale and seem like a psychedelic depiction of the cosmos. However, you can't help but think of the gunpowder artist, Cai Guo-Qiang when you look at these and think about the process. Also you will be reminded of Kandinsky's paintings when you observe the movement and musicality of the colors and forms over the paper. Furthermore, I like her addition here of layers of cut, monochromatic paper to sections of some of the works in this show. The geometric qualities of these sections play nicely against the circular forms, lozenges and organic ribbons of color from the fireworks. It also gives the work a more 3-dimensional quality, makes the surface even more interesting and creates a nice tension between the flat and raised areas. In this respect, it reminds me a little of the cut layers in Hilary Harnischfeger's work (that I talked about in an earlier blog) although the end result is very different.
When thinking about how these works were made (and there is a nifty video showing the artist creating these works), the ideas go much deeper than the surface. In the process of using fireworks, although the artist is doing her best to harness the power and the effects of the explosives, there is also much created by chance. These works are the embodiment of both control and randomness and there is a sense of spirituality in that for me.
There is also the dichotomy between destruction and creation. As the fireworks violently explode and emit toxic fumes (see the artist in her mask in the video), this results in something special, unique and gorgeous. If you think of fireworks and how they are used for celebration for personal and national festivities, there is also a sort of meditative quality to the process of utilizing them in these works and also in the finished work. All these elements create a sort of tension that engrosses you. Plus, they are just so darn beautiful to look at and the colors - jewel-tones that are rich and deep - just draw you in.
There are also some small, glass-domed sculptures made from the process of lighting smoke bombs while the glass is being formed. They are interesting and its fun to see the process also on the video. There is a very organic, primordial quality to theses sculptures and they differ from the paintings in terms of the lack of color. You can see the remnants of the smoke bombs left within the glass making the works self-reflective in terms of how they were created - which I like a lot. You can see examples, not very clearly - sorry - in the second photo of the installation.
Please go see before the show comes down at the beginning of July.
Link to exhibition
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