 Space, 2003 woodblock, gouache, paper and ceramic (14 x 18 x 5 inches) Marja Vallila Recent Work Zabriskie Gallery exhibits the recent work of Marja Vallila in a variety of media: pop-up collage, ceramic sculpture, film installation, and digital prints. Viewed together the exuberant and colorful works display a cyclical evolution as her pop-up collages spring into organic fully three-dimensional ceramic sculptures, which she further animates in digital film and then recaptures in two-dimensional form as digital prints. Initially a metal sculptor, Marja Vallila turned to slip-cast ceramics in 2000 after a visit to the ceramic museum of Deruta in Italy piqued her interest in color. Her recent polychromatic sculptures-both wall-mounted and free-standing-reveal a continuing love and exploration of color and dynamic form. She combines pieces cast from banal, functional objects found on Canal Street into twisting, surprising, and humorous sculptures. The final forms are almost amphibian-looking biomorphic creations that "verge on the vessel yet avoid a central, open void" (John Perrault). Marja Vallila's exuberant yet intricate looping shapes "merge back again into an indescribable whole" (Milan Hlaves). Indeed, this holds true for the show as a whole, as her pieces evolve in an interconnected manner. Her sculptures seem to pop up from her highly-textured three-dimensional collages, which she began creating in 2003 by combining woodblock, gouache, and cut paper. As her sculptures spring forth from her collages, her digital films further animate them. In 2002 Vallila started filming the separate pieces of her sculptures and using them as the subjects of her raw, experimental films. These films emphasize and increase the dynamism of her art through their rhythmic fades and fluid overlaps. Once brought to life, she recaptures her sculptural "actors" in the two-dimensional form of digital images. In spite of the flatness of the medium, her use of layered transparencies subtly explores space within the two-dimensional medium. Although the look of spontaneity belies the artist's highly involved processes, her sense of playfulness, color, energy and humor is evident throughout. Exhibition: August 23 - October 2, 2004 Gallery Hours: Mon-Fri 10 am - 5:30 pm Zabriskie Gallery 41 East 57 Street USA-New York NY 10022 Telephone +1 212 752.1223 Fax +1 212 752.1224 Email info@zabriskiegallery.com www.zabriskiegallery.com |
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