"Two-in" by Jemimah Patterson opens August 5th.
Shelter Island, NY, July 7, 2011 - 'Two-In' brings British artist Jemimah Patterson to New York for her first solo American exhibition. The artist's reception is Saturday, August 6 from 6 to 8 pm. The exhibition runs through August 29.
Identical twins intrigue us because they are clones, not only in a biological sense, but in the popular use of the word. As one of a conjoined set of identical twins who were surgically separated at birth, Jemimah Patterson's works resonate with duality and psychological dimension. Using paired and mirror motifs that incorporate painting with found objects and re-purposed canvases, she creates surrogate double portraits that hover between two and three-dimensional disciplines.
Twinned imagery emerges in Patterson's manipulation of shadows and mirrors, the reflective surfaces allowing her to explore ideas of duplicity and identity. In her hands, everyday objects--chairs, cabinets, wallpaper--take on a double life. She collects old canvases and boxes, prizing them for their interesting backs or internal spaces; using them as her surface to create pieces that reveal hidden secrets or compartments. Labels, notes and marks become precious gifts, testaments to their past. Marrying these existing references with new images in a way that recalls Marcel Duchamp's observation 'it is the onlookers who make the pictures'.
In the double self-portrait 'Tiffin', a salvaged tin box stands lid ajar revealing a painting of the artist from both front and behind. Peering into the mirror on tiptoe she does not see her own reflection, but rather the view the observer sees. A similar game of trickery is played in 'Expectant' a larger vintage wood box lined with mirrors which juxtaposes paintings of the artist's pregnant twin with a clock face. The infinite repetition of her pregnant form through the mirrors invites the viewer into a world of endless anticipation.
Patterson appreciates purpose and is keenly aware of its relevance in the pieces we use daily, citing a chair is not a chair until its function is fulfilled. In 'Detachment' a reverse-canvas and glass diptych, a single floating armchair faces the other entirely blank canvas. Is the armchair patiently waiting for someone or something? The absence and quietness feels loaded. As in 'Absent Friends' the floating chair suggests it has transcended its normal function, and gained a sentimental, even spiritual dimension.
The doubling manifests within the gallery space itself too, where the artist designed a sepia-toned wallpaper, transforming the space into a cozy domicile. Upon close inspection the Victorian-style repeat reveals itself to be an intricate design composed of hundreds of conjoined twins.
boltax.gallery is Shelter Island's premier contemporary art gallery featuring works from emerging and established artists with a focus on painting, drawing and 3-dimensional artwork. boltax.gallery is open Thursday through Monday from 11 am to 6 pm and by appointment.
For a digital file of any images for publication, please call 631.749.4062
exhibition dates: august 5 - 29
gallery hours: thursday - monday 11am - 6pm
