co-curated with Leah Triplett
On view January 5 through February 12, 2023 @ Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Boston, MA
Artist List: Cathy Della Lucia, Elspeth Schulze
Romance implies an object of affection through and alongside which we transform ourselves. Artmaking always involves an element of change: paint, ceramics, ink, ideas—the materials of art shift in process, becoming something greater than what they were. Perhaps more so than other materials, wood possesses an untouchable formal agency in both its natural and human-altered states. Of nature and with potential to appear artificial; seemingly still and static yet constantly swelling and dispelling moisture; living, even after its death. Brimming with contradictory qualities, wood as a medium is anything but generic. The ineffability of wood offers a seductive proposition to artists concerned with materiality.
A Romance Of... explores the allure of wood in the practices of Cathy Della Lucia (Boston, Massachusetts) and Elspeth Schulze (Tulsa, Oklahoma). Approaching the material with care, Della Lucia and Schulze perform a love affair in their studios. In their tender hands, aided by chisels, saws, and progressive carving technologies, wood undergoes a metamorphosis. Suggesting artificial and biological forms, Della Lucia and Schulze’s works appear porous and fibrous, allowing expansion and contraction; breathing, as if a body. Wood is romanced into mimetic forms, coming alive to possibility of fleshy feeling, both hard and soft.
Installation views pictured below: "A Romance Of...", January 5-February 12, 2023, Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Boston, MA. All artwork © the artists. Photography by Abigail Ogilvy Gallery.
