Installation view. Courtesy of the artists, Mrs., Maspeth, New York, and Document Gallery, Chicago
Meteor Shower
I read somewhere that meteor showers are almost always named after the constellation from which they originate. It’s funny, I think, how even the universe is telling us that we can never get too far from the place that created us. How there is always a streak of our past trailing closely behind us like a smattering of obstinate memories.
Even when we enter a new atmosphere, become subsumed in flames, turn to dust, lose ourselves in the wind, and scatter the surface of all that rest beneath us, we bring a part of where we are from to every place we go.
—Clint Smith
This poem serves as the sole accompanying text for “Meteor,” a collaborative group show between New York-based gallery Mrs. and Chicago and Lisbon-based gallery Document featuring works by Alexandra Barth, Nickola Pottinger, Carolyn Salas and Robert Zehnder. Smith’s words set a tone for the show that is heavily pertinent to the time we are in. We are increasingly able to move further and further away from home and more often, but left to ponder what this means in relation to our identity. Which parts of “home” do we carry with us and what do we leave behind in our wake?
Courtesy of Alexandra Barth, Mrs., Maspeth, New York, and Document Gallery, Chicago
Upon entering the gallery you are greeted by a painting by Alexandra Barth featuring the reflection of a sink in a mirror. Barth’s other paintings depict a side table, a window covered with large white curtains and a singular chair situated against a dark red background. The paintings draw an immediate connection to the idea of space and elevate the otherwise ordinary objects we rarely give a second thought to. The removal of any interaction with these objects evokes an almost eerie feeling of isolation and emptiness as if the spaces the objects exist in have been abandoned leaving behind only memories the objects hold. The paintings bring to mind questions of how these objects we interact with daily affect our perception of the spaces we exist in, and what they contribute to our interpretation of home.
Courtesy of Nickola Pottinger, Mrs., Maspeth, New York, and DOCUMENT Gallery, Chicago
Punctuating the space as the only work not fixed to the walls is a sculpture by artist Carolyn Salas. Aptly titled “Seated Figure,” the work features a nude figure seated on their side, glancing over their shoulder. It is the most obvious figurative form in the show, adding to the conversation of the concept of self. While the other works feature manmade objects and nature, “Seated Figure” allows a more personal, human connection to be drawn. The figure itself does not serve as a broad representation of all viewers but does call to mind the beginning of a connection to oneself. Furthering this connection to self are the mixed media works by Nickola Pottinger. Pottinger’s works, however, stand out from the others through their abstraction of form. They are heavily textured and vibrantly colored, inviting the viewer in for a longer, more careful viewing.
While there can be some form of conclusive relation tied between Smith’s poem and the individual artworks, the works themselves struggle to express the same narrative connection in conversation with one another. It is an ambitious feat to use a poem as the sole connecting text forming a bridge between the viewers and the works. “Meteor” places a heavy reliance on ambiguity and asks the viewer to form their own connections. The exhibition balances on the delicate line between uncertainty and statement and simultaneously feels at times inaccessible while also leaving the viewer wanting more.
“Meteor” with Mrs. x DOCUMENT. On view at Document, 1709 West Chicago, June 23-August 5.
Refuse, Reused: A Review of Kiah Celeste at Document Where a critic could easily argue this collection of sculptures is about our waste and how much of it there is, Celeste provides us the opportunity to quit worrying and find a better use for the refuse, ourselves.
A Fantastic World: A Review of Meg Lipke at Document We think we’re casting our gaze onto a jagged landscape filled with fractured forms and striped patterns, and just as suddenly we’re staring at a jigsaw puzzle.
