Coming and Going, 2012, papier-mâché, wood slices, pencil, acrylic and red fabric, 65 3/4 x 60 x 60 inches
Luisa Rabbia's exhibition is 'Coming and Going' to Chelsea gallery
By Alison Martin
September 10, 2012
The Peter Blum Gallery in Chelsea has announced an exhibition of works by Luisa Rabbia titled Coming and Going. For her first solo show at the gallery, Rabbia offers works that revolve around the theme of passage of time and contemporary life. She conveys these themes through drawings and sculptures made from materials including porcelain and papier-mâché.
The sculptures are highly reflective of nature with depictions of tree roots as vein-like elements that are seen connecting to and nourishing its figures while wood and stones hold them to solid ground, emphasizing the relationship between the human and nature.
Examples of unity, and separation are also evident with the usage of the colors blue and red, which represent and essential role in the human vascular system. Such is shown in the sculpture Dual, where two skinny bodies are wrapped around each other and rely on one another for balance. Similarly, the sculpture Coming and Going, with several bodies huddled together, also features these red and blue colors. Chopped tree branches surround the bodies.
Rabbia’s work has been featured in many international solo and group exhibitions including the Fundación PROA, in Buenos Aires, Argentina; the Fondazione Merz, in her native, Torino, Italy; the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, in Boston; the Arti del XXI secolo in Rome; and the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art in China. Rabbia is based in Brooklyn. At Peter Blum Chelsea, 526 W. 29th St., from Sept. 13 through Oct. 27. The gallery is open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.