Now that you have the 12 Steps to Gallery Hopping and where to get your quick fix each week, it only seems fitting to offer you a HIGH-light of last week's gallery hop.
Last week's first of many stops for my quick fix was Under African Skies at Tria Gallery which featured the works of Delphine Diallo, Lloyd Toone and Ezra Wube. Upon arrival, a tribal band played music of the African lands, setting the ambiance of the exhibition. As I listened to the eclectic sounds of the band, I took notice of a life-size mixed media work by Delphine Diallo (in collaboration with Sidi VS Leghead Calabo) from her Empire of Illusion series.
Drawing off of the author and journalist, Chris Hedges' book Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle, she senses "perfection is an illusion" and presents the viewer with a chance to draw them into the trueness of society's blurred reality. The question of real versus artificial, came into play when Sidi and Diallo affixed painted expressions upon the model and mannaquin during a live performance that took place some months back. Later Diallo painted the silver and gold frame with a pure automatism (writing/ painting without thinking) practice, utilized by the Dadaists throughout the Turn of the Century, to navigate herself around the question of reality and the image of beauty.
Drawing off of the author and journalist, Chris Hedges' book Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle, she senses "perfection is an illusion" and presents the viewer with a chance to draw them into the trueness of society's blurred reality. The question of real versus artificial, came into play when Sidi and Diallo affixed painted expressions upon the model and mannaquin during a live performance that took place some months back. Later Diallo painted the silver and gold frame with a pure automatism (writing/ painting without thinking) practice, utilized by the Dadaists throughout the Turn of the Century, to navigate herself around the question of reality and the image of beauty.
Not only did the work stop me in my tracks but the actual artist herself exudes a breath-taking attitude of positive energy. Definitely an artist worth tracking.
By Delphine Diallo and Sidi VS LegHead
"Money is love because it means you have the chance to give back."
-Quoted by Diallo during the opening when I inquired about a dollar bill paper-clipped to the top of the work.
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Stayed-tuned... One HIGH-light will be featured weekly from my gallery hopping extravaganzas.
Music, performances, talks with the creators of the featured art, let's not forget the wine and of course, the reason for it all... ART, ART, ART! - How could you not be addicted?!
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