Last Minute Plans: Chris Garofalo's Zoophytosphere Vivaria
By Julia Weeman in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 2, 2013 8:00PM
Tonight at Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chris Garofalo marks her fourth solo show with Zoophytosphere Vivaria. Garofalo's porcelain sculptures emulate the genetic make-up of flora, fauna, and aquatic life. The intricacy and realistic nature of each piece is fascinating and beautiful, giving the viewer both an appreciation for the natural forms they emulate and the artist's craft in creating them.
For exhibition purposes, the work is housed in custom-made dome structures on "camouflage" bases to reference the environmental concepts of both biomes and vivariums. Biomes are used to classify the earth's major ecological communities, whereas a vivarium is a micro-level simulation of an ecosystem built for keeping animals or plants for observation or research. The bases illustrate various biomes, while the reflection on each dome surface helps to disguise the subjects. This combination complements Garofalo’s desire for the pieces to “look like they grew or made themselves.” Garofalo seeks to remind the viewer that "we humans present both the greatest threat to the diversity of life forms on Earth and the greatest hope for its preservation."
In the concurrent exhibition, Ceramic Sculpture, see work by international sculptors Tiago Carneiro de Cunha, Takuro Kuwata, Tristano di Robilant, Tom Sather, and Arlene Shechet. Each artist takes a different approach to the medium. Carneiro de Cunha's faience, acetate, and resin pieces are located at a cross-section of pop culture icons, politics, and horror movies, and resemble amorphous monsters, speaking to the concept of art as an object of desire and consumption. Kuwata's wheel-thrown objects are an expansion on the traditional ceramic methods of his native Japan. He pulls the work from the kiln before it has completely melted, resulting in bursts of gold and mercury in his pieces. Di Robilant's glossy, tactile pieces seek to interact with natural light with reflective glazes. Sather's low-fired vessels in hues of deep brown, charcoal, and black are made from the same material but each has nuances in their asymmetry. Shechet's works appears to float and twist on unadorned concrete, plaster, wood and steel, walking a fine line between balance and chaos.
The opening reception is this evening from 4-7 pm. Rhona Hoffman Gallery is located at 118 North Peoria Street, Chicago. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m.