The Walnut Gallery, in partnership with the Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts, presents “Afflicted Likeness” by Lori Larusso. The exhibition, organized and installed by Walnut Gallery, will be on display in the Cathy Chan Exhibition Hall of the Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts from June 3 – August 11. A meet the artist reception and gallery talk will be held July 5, as part of Downtown Gadsden’s First Friday.
This exhibition represents a growing collaboration between the Walnut Gallery and the Mary G Hardin Center, in that Lori Larusso will be exhibiting in the Hardin Center and doing an artist residency at the Walnut Gallery in July. “When we first saw Lori’s work the exhibition committee of the Walnut Gallery fell in love with the nostalgic and stylistic shaped panels and planned on exhibiting the work at the Walnut Gallery, but unfortunately the artist’s schedule and our schedule did not line up. After talking with Bobby Welch at the Mary G. Hardin Center, we found a way to bring her to the Chan Exhibition hall and to the Walnut Gallery for an even greater project that will include the artist living and making work at the Walnut Gallery”, said Mario Gallardo, who is the Executive Director of the Walnut Gallery.
Lori Larusso earned her BFA from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, with a minor in Women’s Studies, and her MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art’s graduate interdisciplinary program, the Mount Royal School of Art. Lori maintains a solid studio practice, exhibiting her work locally, nationally, and internationally. Lori’s recent awards include a Visual Artist Fellowship from the MacDowell Colony, the Kentucky Arts Council’s Al Smith Fellowship, a Milton and Sally Avery Fellowship, and the 2012 James Rosenquist Artist in Residence at North Dakota State University. She will have solo exhibition at Porter Contemporary (New York, NY), which will open in September 2013.
The title of the show, Afflicted Likeness alludes to the use of two-dimensional representation to suggest issues inherent beyond the picture plain. “Very often, our ideals are a reflection of the way we wish things were, rather than a product of the way we actually experience them,” says artist Lori Larusso of her work. “I find this conflict to be in direct connection to the representational image.” Lori’s large-format paintings often combine elements of the familiar with seemingly contradictory details, creating a disconnect between what a viewer sees and what they expect to see. “Regardless of our individual upbringings in the US, media and historical representations of generic and stereotypical middle-America remind us of the culture we prefer to present as reality. For this work, I utilize both acquired and invented imagery. No image is without reference. The paintings reference the myriad of parts that make up any social construct, the multitude of contributing factors to any situation. I am interested in exploring the unavoidable contradictions which exist in our personal (and collective) systems of belief, by pointing to the complexity of individual situations. ”
The edges of the painted images are defined by the edges of the actual supports. Some works contain multiple separate pieces that interact within a whole idea. By including only the necessary information needed to complete the idea and composition, aspects of a specific situation or environment are isolated and brought to the forefront. “Some of the images themselves are made up of several independent paintings, each one shaped to its subject, that combine to form a single image”, said Welch. The result is a combination of painted surfaces that “contain multiple separate pieces that interact within a whole idea,” Larusso explains. The layering of paintings creates a three-dimensional effect, creating interiors and scenes that extend from the wall toward the viewer. “It’s a body of work you have to see in person to fully appreciate,” added Welch, “and the Chan gallery at the Hardin Center is the perfect venue for it.”
More
LoriLarusso.com
Gadsden Times article
The Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts