227 State Street
Madison, WI
Through May 8, 2011
In Menagerie, multi-media artist Shinique Smith uses an innumerable quantity of found and second-hand objects, primarily clothing, to create abstract forms and pop-culture references. Accompanied by sensual and semi-frenzied murals, drawings and sketches, the sculptures and installations are a refined and rapturous take on three-dimensional collage.
Carefully connected pieces of consumer waste, bound with rope and string and often bearing the neon price sticker of a thrift store, create a rhythmic swoon of color and texture. Personal references, made with objects from Smith's family and friends, are intimately intertwined with the cast-offs of the anonymous many, making for a whimsical commentary on the overall theme of excess.
In Bale Variant No. 0017, an ombre effect is obtained via a cube made from layers of uniformly dyed garments. A rich, dark black-blue migrates vertically into a creamy color-field of undershirt white, as hundreds of scrunched-together pieces of clothing cascade upward into the white space of the gallery, both infinite and burdensome in the same moment.
Smith's works are an incredible match for MMOCA main gallery space. Using both the lofty height of the ceilings and the breadth of the walls to create a rich, vibrant atmosphere, Smith achieves a pertinent nonchalance while strategically illuminating and enhancing the architecture of our own consumer waste.
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| Shinique Smith, Bale Variant No. 0017, 2009. Clothing, fabric, ink, twine, ribbon and wood, 72 x 52 x 52 inches. Private collection. Image source: MMOCA |
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