Currently out of fashion, old-school feminism gets a genial makeover in Jana Perez’s color diptychs riffing on the familiar themes of obsession with appearance, gynecology, sex and confinement. Perez combines the bite of the past with the confidence and self-irony of the present, as in “Justify,” where we see, on the left, a noose hanging from a tree branch over a river and, on the right, a paunchy woman circling a tape measure around her midriff. Back in the day, the same concept would have been represented so as to evoke rage; under Perez’s ministrations, it is lightened up, yet it still packs a punch along with a smile. Perez even crosses into post-feminist abandon when she pairs, in “Satisfy,” a sensuous image of a steamy woman sucking on a popsicle with a dildo resting in the folds of a silky bedsheet—the girls are all right. (Michael Weinstein)
Through Feb 21 at Woman Made Gallery 685 N. Milwaukee. (312)738-0400.
Lost in Translation: A Review of Crip* at Gallery 400 The strongest works in the exhibition succinctly express the ways the artist relates to their own body while calling out how the artist’s body and body of work has been perceived or coded against norms or ideals.
