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Written by Kat Murrell
Aug 11, 2010
The current show at Dean Jensen Gallery opens with two women lounging. One is a drawing of a young woman with her legs thrown over the arm of a rococo loveseat. She wears a bright red unitard and her endless, braided hair wraps around her like a frame, defining her space. The other is a photograph of a mature woman lying on her side on a bed. She wears a ballet costume and a far-off expression that looks to the long past. This combination of youthful sexuality and nostalgic experience set up the joint exhibition of artists Claire Stigliani and Susan Worsham, on view through Sept. 4.
Worsham’s portion of the gallery is titled “Southern Gothic,” and the roots of these images grew from the literary soil of her family’s past. Her large photographs construct and reconstruct the landscape of living, exuding nostalgia, decay and even irony. Her picture “Snakes On My Childhood Bed” stems from a visit to the house where she grew up. The current homeowner keeps reptiles and stows the critters in her former room when their cages are being cleaned. Worsham notes this strange twist of fate: “My mother always promised that there were no snakes in my room, and now that she is gone, there are.”
Fantasy looms large in Claire Stigliani’s drawings, shown under the moniker “Through A Looking-Glass.” Her pictures toss out references to fairy tales, history and the artist’s biography. The young women in her compositions mix innocence, elegance and sexuality as though exploring the dark forest of the adult world. Suggestions of Little Red Riding Hood and accompanying wolves are especially prevalent and take on multiple symbolic overtones. Stigliani’s black ink outlines signal a direct assuredness, combined with a taste for opulence through the use of flocking, fleece and the visual decadence of gold leaf.
