| Shine,
Seduce, and Amuse
The latest Fusebox show brings found objects, everyday icons,
and fine art to 14th St.
By Rekha Murthy
|
In Washington’s contemporary art scene, sometimes the gap
between fine art and emerging art seems nearly impossible
to bridge. The few venues earning the title “museum” – such
as the Corcoran and the Hirshhorn -- show works of high quality
from all over the world. But too many DC galleries end up
looking like refuges for the B-, C-, and D-lists of the contemporary
art world.
That’s why Fusebox’s latest exhibits are such a pleasant
surprise. Sylvan Lionni and Angel Nuñez bring their world-class
work into a gallery that knows what to do with it. |
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![Nunez[1].install](images/Nunez1small.jpg)
Angel Núñez
Untitled, 2002 color photograph
19 ½ x 19 ½ inches edition of 3
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When the shows opened recently, it became clear that plenty of
locals are drawn to that kind of convergence. Maybe it was the free
wine, but I doubt it. The place was packed, and there seemed to
be a real exchange of energy between the work on display and the
people there to see it. Yes, guests talked and drank, but they also
really looked at the art. And interacted with it.
| Though the artists’ works are very different, they’re
both accessible. New York-based Lionni’s work was presented
in the main gallery space. Three large-format paintings on
the right wall look like renditions of a lottery ticket or
an answer form for a paper-based standardized test. The titles
hint at what Lionni was thinking: “Pick Six,” “Take Five,”
and “Pick Ten.” But clearly, he encourages ambiguity.
I was impressed by the finely calibrated balance between
abstraction and representation: The colors are flat, dense
pastel; but the details, though sparing, are unmistakable
yet enigmatic. All three paintings face a vivid red, black,
and white “Untitled” hung in an apparent attempt at dialogue
with its more benign brethren. It, too,
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Sylvan Lionni
Shine, 2002 latex wall painting
dimensions variable
|
looks like a ticket, but I may have been prejudiced by the other three
paintings.
Lionni continues his reach into our collective visual vocabulary
with a huge rendition of the carpet pattern from the movie, The
Shining. The palette is rich and dense, and the effect mesmerizing.
| To Fusebox co-director Sarah Finlay, Lionni’s work is
an apt expression of the conversations going on in international
contemporary art these days. “He’s looking at the modernist
aesthetic established by modern artists and how it’s absorbed
into the modern day vernacular,” she says.
While Lionni’s accessibility is visual, Angel Nuñez takes
a more tactile approach to engaging with his audience. In
the gallery’s project space, Nuñez installed several 3-D blobs
shaped out of fiberglass. Some hang |
Angel Núñez
Untitled, 2002 fiberglass, flocking, lenses, and electrical
material
approx. 6 x 15 x 18 inches
|
from the ceiling; some are mounted from the ground. All are slightly
below eye level. They are fuzzy on the outside, rounded, and inviting
to touch. Each piece has several eyeholes, positioned close to one
another, encouraging people to lean in and look.
At first, people were hands-off, conditioned by everything from
good upbringing to strict Hirshhorn guards. Soon, however, the atmosphere
relaxed. As people approached to peer through the eyeholes, faces
came close to one another, hands accidentally brushed on the fuzzy
surfaces of the blob. Eventually, people caressed the zaftig blobs
while bringing the peepholes to their faces, apparently quite comfortable
with becoming voyeurs.
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Finlay says that Nuñez, like Lionni, puts fine art face-to-face
with the everyday world: “It’s not just a dialogue with fine
art but with the everyday visual vernacular.
Fusebox has commitments with 18 emerging artists, chosen
for their professionalism and early critical acclaim. If every
exhibition accomplishes such surprising, fun, and coherent
juxtapositions, then DC’s contemporary art community has much
to look forward to. |
Angel Núñez
Untitled, 2002 color photograph
19 ½ x 19 ½ inches edition of 3
|
“Shine: Sylvan Lionni” and works by Angel Nuñez are on exhibit
through February 23.
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Fusebox
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1412 14th St.
202.299.9221
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Rekha Murthy is a writer and radio producer who likes free
wine and good art. And good art and free wine.
All images courtesy of Fusebox, Washington, DC
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