Bronx River Art Center
March 16 – April 21, 2007
The word “sly” is a slippery character. It suggests a kind of craftiness and playfulness; someone or some thing that is mischievous perhaps bordering on the sneaky. With that in mind, Sly is an exhibition that features work that, each in its own way, winks at, plays with, or otherwise befuddles the viewer. It is an invitation to the viewer to allow him or herself to be played…with. Each of the artists alters, melds or otherwise questions perceptions about history, gender or perceptions in ways that question the viewer’s first impressions.
Laurel Farrin’s riffs on Mondrian and Malevich paintings play with art history and with language,
while Micki Watanabe Spiller’s sculpture and drawings also references history, specifically that of literature and devotion.
James Huang’s work reveals his love of material while also commenting on male identity.
Brendan Mulcahy’s photographs are diptychs of seemingly identical mundane subjects that point out how different moments of coincidence are conflicting desires to blend in and to stand out. Anton Sinkewich also photographs everyday scenes. Sinkewich plays with the physicality of his photographs by breaking up the photographic plane, creating moments into which the viewer and the room both meld.
Each of these artists creates coolly clever and often humorous work that suggests things aren’t always as they seem. As viewers this is a chance to knowingly allow artists to set the parameters of that game – whether it calls us to question the art historical canon or poke fun at our own ideas of gender or craft, physical space or experiences of uniqueness. Sly is an ever-changing stance.
-- Katarina Wong, March 2007
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