Review of "Wow-House" at Johalla Projects and Laura Letinsky at the MCA

Johalla Projects – “Wow-house”

Johalla’s “Woo-house” was a refreshing gallery show. It did not take itself to seriously, yet it was dealing with a complex and very now topic: the intersection of furniture, décor and art.

The collection of pieces in the show blurred the line between art and edifice in a way that made the viewer consider the possible implications “living with art.” Most interesting perhaps was the paper circle rug. It was decorative and constructed like a rug would have been. Yet it was not a functioning object, you could not walk on it, instead I found myself walking around it. By referencing the nature of the decorative object but then completely altering its function, this piece addresses the complicated relationship between function and décor.

For a gallery to mount this show was surprising to me, in a way the show is questioning their very purpose. Galleries sell work to clients who then choose how to display the work, sometimes using it as décor. The space between the production of art and the act of selling it to private collector has always been a fascinating disconnect in the art world. This show is very frank in the way that it explores this disconnect through a body of work presented in a gallery.

Laura Letinsky at the MCA

Letinsky’s past still lives have always had a contemplative stillness, and a very formal esthetic. While the objects in her earlier work felt “off” in a certain way (used, or rotten, or askew), her new subject matter feels both playful and contemplative. By using manipulated images Letinsky is playing with the very nature of representation and perhaps decay.

These still lives have the same quietness as her earlier work, yet the play with images on paper, becomes a surprising punctum. Letinsky is using both the positive and negative space of her cut outs, implying the significance of form as well as subject matter. Her play with both presence and absence is also reflected in the very way that she photographs, her images are very flat and evenly lit. This creates a flattening effect between the background and the various forms present on the picture plane. The manipulated three-dimensional nature of the prints within the image become flatted again through the way Letinsky photographs.

This work seems to be a natural departure from Letinky’s earlier work, yet a more playful examination of the same theme, producing compelling results.