Hallwalls 4/22

laurel farrin
shaun gladwell

April 22–MAY 27, 2006

Opening Reception: April 22, 8–11 pm
Slide Talk: April 22, 7 pm

Laurel Farrin
The paintings of Laurel Farrin encompass multiple gestures to illustrate the malleable persona of visual language. A perpetual construction and deconstruction of form create visual uncertainties in which the paradox of being and becoming is expressed. An intuitive understanding of "betweenness" lies at the heart of the work and Farrin explores these concepts by juggling the basic precepts of Painting’s history: of illusionist representation and the formal emphases of abstraction. Through trompe l’oeil, Farrin addresses the basic deception of painting.

Shaun Gladwell
She depicts an illusionistic canvas on real canvas, a doubling of the object we call a "painting ". The ground becomes a vertical field, an arena without perspective on which abstracted images—improvised primarily from an inventory of modernist painting and popular culture—interact. In some paintings, these typologies "press" into the field, impacting its surface and each other. In others, the forms exist on the periphery, appearing to exist in front of, or behind, the ground. The shifting hierarchy between field and figure, illusion and flatness, triggers conversations about the complications of coexistence, both cultural and personal, which extends beyond the discourse of painting to resonate with the pathos and humor of living.

Prominent in the video work of Australian artist Shaun Gladwell are situational vignettes in which both skateboarding and breakdancing are often the featured actions. At the same time Gladwell’s works are not strictly about these subjects, but serve more aptly as points of departure for other considerations. Within Gladwell’s videos there are undeniable depictions of athleticism and technical proficiency—whether boarding or breakdancing—and their often slow-motion aspect might seem to suggest that illustrating a sporty performance is the point of the work. But these physical maneuvers also operate as formal devices within the works, means by which space is physically disrupted, actually and conceptually. That the actions depicted take place in public spaces bluntly remarks on the manner in which either act (fringe pastimes that have been partially folded into the mainstream culture) can deftly carve up the spaces in which they occur—there is social action and interaction at work here. But additionally, Gladwell uses these actions to elegantly divide his picture plane, a terrain of emphatic colors and composition. Locating hubs of intense action within visuals that are otherwise calmly composed indicates a deep dive into the moment, the sublime within a singular gesture, a repetitive beauty winding its way toward a state of grace.

Shaun Gladwell is represented by Sherman Galleries, Sydney, Australia.