Friday I trekked down to Chelsea to see Vadis Turner's solo show before it came down and even though it is a total pain in the butt to head all the way to Chelsea with a baby and stroller in tow it was so worth it.
I have known of Vadis and her work for quite awhile now and have always appreciated how uninhibited she seems to be as an artist, taking risks, playing with materials, and often being a little over the top. So I was excited to check out her new work which works with fiber, mostly satin ribbon.
Her show, Bridal Party, was at Lyons Weir, they are a great gallery and have moved into a new space that is a very intimate (just my style.) I am unsure as to if the gallery or Vadis decided to paint the walls of the gallery a light but smoky gray but whoever did was genius it framed her work so well and made the colors and her incredible eye for it pop off the wall. Now that I look at the images on line with her work photographed on a white wall I yearn for that gray. And though when I initially saw the pictures I thought they gave a good sense of the work but to experience them in person is a entirely different thing.
In the press release this is said:
Ms. Turner’s work is an intersection where color theory, abstraction, assemblage and feminism meet head on. The artist’s innate color sensibilities and energy pay homage to the New York School of Abstract Expressionist and Action painters like Joan Mitchell and Willem De Kooning, by employing broad strokes of color. Through Ms. Turner’s exquisite and unique use of materials such as ribbon, clothing, antique quilts, lace and yarn, the artist continues to explore and exploit traditional “feminine” materials and creates a contemporary dialogue as found in the works of artists such as Petah Coyne and Shinique Smith.
Turner states, “During the creation of my marital Dowry and Reception (Permanent Collection, Brooklyn Museum of Art), I became interested in the aesthetic bridges between diverse rites of passage. Elaborate ceremonies honor, idealize and purify the subject as they transition from one life chapter to the next. The subject simultaneously embodies a climax and demise. A new identity is conceived. An old identity dies. In this body of work, elements of ceremonial adornment are partnered with various processes of decay. Satin ribbons and flowers are fixed in a stilled state of destruction and removal inspired by fire or mold. Through consumption and repurposing, each process re-imagines the beauty and energy of change and loss.”
Turner’s latest installation creates a delicate balance between sustainable and ephemeral, addressing elements like fire, mold and other forms of decay by combining elements from a proven path and a path less traveled. Together with the known and unknown, Vadis Turner crafts a visual kaleidoscope that draws the viewer into an otherworldly realm of aesthetics and beauty.
Turner states, “During the creation of my marital Dowry and Reception (Permanent Collection, Brooklyn Museum of Art), I became interested in the aesthetic bridges between diverse rites of passage. Elaborate ceremonies honor, idealize and purify the subject as they transition from one life chapter to the next. The subject simultaneously embodies a climax and demise. A new identity is conceived. An old identity dies. In this body of work, elements of ceremonial adornment are partnered with various processes of decay. Satin ribbons and flowers are fixed in a stilled state of destruction and removal inspired by fire or mold. Through consumption and repurposing, each process re-imagines the beauty and energy of change and loss.”
Turner’s latest installation creates a delicate balance between sustainable and ephemeral, addressing elements like fire, mold and other forms of decay by combining elements from a proven path and a path less traveled. Together with the known and unknown, Vadis Turner crafts a visual kaleidoscope that draws the viewer into an otherworldly realm of aesthetics and beauty.
and in short I agree. What I love about her work is the fact that it fluctuates- in one moment you very much experience it as an academic abstract painting and then you respond to the ribbon that reminds you of something or the flash of underwear or knitted sweater built in to the piece. In addition the work walks the line of being beautiful and feeling luxurious as well as sacrine and gluttonous. This back and forth of her work is what makes it exciting to me.
Sadly if you did not see the show you have missed your chance as it came down on Saturday BUT you have the chance to see another piece from the same series in PLAY which open this Friday or check all the work out online.
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