More About (De)Construct

The Flinn Gallery is pleased to present (De)Construct, featuring the work of artists Linda Lindroth, Ryan Sarah Murphy and Keiko Narahashi. Through their respective mediums of photography, assemblage and clay modelling, these artists probe the boundaries between representation and abstraction, flatness and depth, materiality and illusion, perception and meaning.

The artistic process starts with a utilitarian or ancillary item of little value, such as a cardboard box, piece of crockery or discarded consumer packaging. This artifact is then purposefully and methodically deconstructed, deflated, unfolded or flattened. Thus, voided of its original function, it is decontextualized and reduced to a state of pure abstract objecthood. What differentiates a throw-away object from an art object?

It is up to the viewer to complete the work by imbuing it with their own emotional response and meaning. De(Construct) has been curated by Kirsten Pitts and Isabelle Schiavi. The exhibition runs for seven weeks from March 7 to April 24, 2024, with an opening reception on Thursday, March 7th from 6 to 8pm.


Linda Lindroth has been making and exhibiting her photography-based work since the early seventies. The large photographs exhibited at the Flinn are from her “Flatland” series begun in 2011. With these pieces she deconstructs the tattered consumer packaging of the early to mid-twentieth century. She starts with small cardboard containers that she disassembles, flattens and photographs, displaying the resulting photo at a greatly enlarged scale which abstracts the original object, rendering it almost unrecognizable.

Lindroth’s photographs bring to mind the planar surfaces of Modernism and large-scale color field paintings of Abstract Expressionism, prevalent styles at the time Lindroth began her artistic practice. But a closer look reveals subtle shadows, folds and gestural marks which add depth, texture and dimension to her imagery. In addition, by including the occasional figurative element or real-world cultural reference, Lindroth flouts her predecessors’ orthodoxy of pure abstraction. Born in Florida, she has lived and worked in New Haven, CT for the last four decades.

Ryan Sarah Murphy’s cardboard relief sculptures and hanging wall pieces are generated from urban detritus, discarded pieces of cardboard packaging which she reclaims from the street. Initially drawn to these materials because of their color, she strips them of any identifiable markings such as logos or lettering, then cuts up and layers the pieces creating three dimensional geometric constructions that recall architectural sections or technical drawings. She creates vibrant color compositions, never re-painting or altering the original colors of the found items.

She says, “Materials have always been my point of entry when it comes to creating something. I trust that the material contains within it whatever it is I’m meant to communicate or express…My process is mostly an exercise in getting out of the way as much as possible and letting the material take over…” Murphy’s body of work also includes drawings and multi-layered video works using her own geometric renderings that she alters, collages and abstracts both by hand and with Adobe computer software. These dynamic works recall animated perspective layouts, exploding wireframe grids or rapidly mutating binary codes. The artist was born in Vermont and lives and works in NYC.

Keiko Narahashi’s works are constructed through an elaborate process. Originating as ink drawings suggesting the shapes of traditional pottery, urns and other functional receptacles, they are given to a potter who uses them to model three dimensional forms on a wheel. Narahashi then takes the wet pottery and draws it out, cuts it up and/or flattens it with a rolling pin. The flatness renders the objects unusable and mostly unrecognizable, although vestiges of their former incarnation remain, giving them a strange and haunting inner quality.

Occasionally a primitive human fragment such as a body, face or hand is the subject of this process of reductive transformation. When grouped together they bring to mind surreal landscapes, anime scenery, playgrounds for the imagination. With their solid primary colors or simply painted black, the works seem to inhabit a universal, as well as an uncanny, cartoon-like realm of existence. Keiko Narahashi was born in Japan and grew up in North Carolina. She currently lives and works in NYC.


EVENTS:

Opening Reception: Thursday, March 7th from 6-8pm

Artist Talk: Sunday, April 14th at 2pm


The Flinn Gallery, celebrating its 95th season, is sponsored by Friends of Greenwich Library. It is located on the second floor of the library at 101 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT. Gallery hours are Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm, Thursday 10am-8pm, and Sunday 1-5pm.

Date & Time

April 24, 2024
6:00pm - 5:00pm

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