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Sender, channel, receiver, source, 2012
Detail
Glass, metal, clay and thorns
40 h. x 2 x 2.5 inches
Noelle Allen: Trellis
June 16—July 28, 2012
Carrie Secrist Gallery is pleased to present Noelle Allen: Trellis opening Saturday, June 16 from 4-7 PM. Trellis is Allen’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. The exhibition runs through July 28, 2012.
Noelle Allen: Trellis introduces a new body of sculpture, biologically inspired forms that allude to the body and cell formation. Informed by the drawings for which she is known, Allen’s sculptures transport her systemic and phantasmagorical sensibilities to the third dimension.
Utilizing a layered palette of materials – clay, plaster, terra cotta, resin, and wax – the artist establishes congealed surfaces that resemble membranes or skin. By juxtaposing this vulnerable tissue with sharp points such as thorns, Allen suggests an inaccessible growth or transformation from within each mass. Tension between representation and abstraction develops as individual components are bonded, jointed, and draped together. While Allen’s forms reference molecular structures, botanical forms, and medical models, they do not mimic the organic; instead the work relies on an aesthetic of fantasy to resist definition. Further interruptions in cohesion and scale test viewers’ sense of texture and depth.
Alongside the body of sculpture, Allen exhibits a new set of drawings. The artist’s detailed, cellular compositions on Mylar evoke the forms she creates in the third dimension. With materials such as graphite, watercolor, and tea, Allen explores the infinite complexity of anatomical structures. As precisely made marks mutate into areas of abstracted line and movement, we note again her interest in corporeal transformation from the inside, out.
Noelle Allen (MFA 2004, School of the Art Institute of Chicago) is Associate Professor of Art at Dominican University. Past exhibitions include the 12×12, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Evanston Art Center; Northeastern Illinois University; Arthouse, Austin, TX; and the Drawing Center, New York. Allen’s studio practice is the subject of a feature article in the summer 2012 issue of Art Ltd., written by critic Caroline Picard.
For more information please contact Carrie Secrist or Stevie Greco at 312.491.0917.
Images
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Sender, channel, receiver, source, 2012
Glass, metal, clay and thorns
40 h. x 2 x 2.5 inches -
Sender, channel, receiver, source, 2012
Glass, metal, clay and thorns
40 h. x 2 x 2.5 inches -
Sender, channel, receiver, source, 2012
Detail
Glass, metal, clay and thorns
40 h. x 2 x 2.5 inches -
Sender, channel, receiver, source, 2012
Glass, metal, clay and thorns
40 h. x 2 x 2.5 inches -
Sender, channel, receiver, source, 2012
Detail
Glass, metal, clay and thorns
40 h. x 2 x 2.5 inches -
When all waters still, 2012
Graphite on mylar
60 x 80 inches -
Kore, 2012
Plaster, clay, wax and oil paint
32 h. x 48 x 24 inches -
Kore, 2012
Detail
Plaster, clay, wax and oil paint
32 h. x 48 x 24 inches -
Ilithyia, 2012
Series of six pieces
Terra cotta, clay, resin, metal and thorns
Approx. 13 h. x 5 x 5 inches, each piece -
The inclination of moons, 2012
Beeswax and resin
16 h. x 20 x 20 inches, each piece -
Hidden (States), 2012
Graphite and watercolor on Mylar
7.5 x 14.5 inches -
Seedling, 2012
Graphite on Mylar/11 x 14 inches
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Trailing, 2012
Graphite and watercolor on blueprint
41 x 47 inches -
Black Sea, Persephone, 2012
Plaster, graphite
12 h. x 26.5 x 25.5 inches -
Black Sea, Persephone, 2012
Plaster, graphite
12 h. x 26.5 x 25.5 inches -
Black Sea, Persephone, 2012
Detail
Plaster, graphite
12 h. x 26.5 x 25.5 inches -
Graph (Time), 2012
Series of three pieces
Graphite, tea and watercolor on paper
35.3 x 24 inches, each panel -
The Bride, 2012
Metal, clay, lace, mushrooms, resin and wood
65 h. x 11 x 13 inches -
The Bride, 2012
Detail
Metal, clay, lace, mushrooms, resin and wood
65 h. x 11 x 13 inches -
Untitled (Trellis Study), 2012
Graphite and watercolor on blueprint
16.5 x 11.5 inches -
Lattice and Tension (03), 2012
Graphite on Mylar
42 x 27.5 inches