On a blurry boundary between abstraction and surrealism, photographer Lymarie Rodriguez’s impossibly crisp images on metallic paper simultaneously portray miniature still lives and dynamic epics. The Puerto Rican artist’s preferred subjects are tiny crystal balls designed to water plants. Removing these brilliant, shimmering and ethereal globes from their utilitarian context and making them muses and models, Rodriguez continues the project of Marcel Duchamp’s readymades, though she doesn’t dwell on such self-reflexive specifics. Her projects seem much grander, despite their minute scale.
Against backdrops so out of focus they become abstract color walls, Rodriguez portrays these moist crystal orbs on water, ice, glass and mirrors. In these surroundings, shapes and objects melt into a play of surfaces, reflections and light. Brilliantly rendered in all their translucence, these shining textures devoid of tangible interiors question the very nature of matter. In her miniature plays of shapes and shells, Rodriguez questions weighty assumptions about fullness, embodiment and the act of looking itself.
Altered States of Reality provides a glimpse of the world as captured through the lens of a camera, technology, and through the artists own inner vision. The gifted artist’s participating in Altered States of Reality offer us a perception of the world, as seen, through a complex, enigmatic fusion of emotions and technical mastery. The old boundaries have come tumbling down and the new reality has been altered and is forever changing. This exciting exhibition allows us to challenge our ideas, parables and perceptions that constitute our own reality. Elements of Abstraction presents audiences with a rich kaleidoscope of color, form, and texture that in conjunction breathes life into abstract artworks. Whether employing shimmering brushstrokes or bold fields of color, nonrepresentational art, with its lack of familiar forms, allows the work speak to us on an especially elemental level. Through their deeply personal forms of expression, these artists offer a stunning glimpse into contemporary abstract painting. Portals of Perception bridges the wide expanse of artistic possibilities, gathering together impressionist, realist, and abstract paintings. What we find, surprisingly, is not the differences but the similarities as these talented artists vocalize the inspirations of places, people, and feelings. While the particular visual language may differ, the spirit behind the works has many overlapping areas, because to be human is to realize ourselves within our mental and physical environs.
Exhibition Dates: October 27, 2009 – November 17, 2009
Reception: Thursday, October 29, 2009, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, New York City
Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11a.m. - 6 p.m.
Event URL: http://www.agora-
Featured Artists:
Altered States of Reality—Lil Dafonte, Rupert Davis, GISART, Sharon Hickey, Isaac Images, Joblueheart, Eleanor Owen Kerr, David LaBella, Clecio Lira, Uri Mahlev, Lymarie Rodriguez, Toktam Tayefeh, Maria Trezzi
Elements of Abstraction—
Portals of Perception—Albert Barcilon, Paco Dalmau, Susan Marx, Alina Shapiro, Carmen Sotuela
