Beth Stuart, Teens in Tight Jeans (detail) (2013)
BETH STUART at ERIN STUMP PROJECTS
Sarah
Letovsky
 |
| Beth Stuart, But a Weak Smile (2012) |
When
you first enter “LOUD.BROWN.SHROUD”, Beth Stuart’s new show at Erin Stump
Projects on Queen Street West at Dovercourt, you’re greeted by a melange of
work - paintings, sculpture, hanging objects. It’s also a playful mix of
textiles - linens, leather, tile, paint, gold leaf. Stuart’s forte doesn’t just
lie in one mode of creation - she thrives on the complex conversation created
by a diversity of objects.Too Bright
Light (2013), the large painting that greets you when you enter is a
strange play of warm colours, oblique shapes, and bananas. Next to it is Teens in Tight Jeans (2013), a long, skinny,
tiled pole, with a green arc resting on top, with large hoop earrings on either
side. It’s a strange placement of objects, but they seem to be having a
conversation.
Stuart,
who was shortlisted for the 2010 RBC Canadian Painting competition, clearly
works from a very conceptual place, and her work is rooted in cultural and
literary references. At the front of the gallery is her artist’s statement, in
which she writes, “as the three push on and pull off, they look, they consider
their affinities and their conflicts, they tease their fractious symmetry.
There is a shuffling dance to recommit the balance in their reflections, to
adjust for change”. It’s certainly cryptic, but this is part of Stuart’s
modus operandi; she plays on the edges of abstraction and figuration, a
constant oscillation of meaning and reference. She leaves clues for us, maybe
even red herrings, and let us consider, infer, or invent our own interpretation
of her pieces.
There’s
also a definite sexual overtone to this show. Each piece in itself might not be
overtly sexual, but together they tell a different story. Rode Hard, Put Away Wet (2013) is a
marbled ball, suspended from a long leather string attached to the wall,
reminiscent of a Louise Bourgeois-era of abstracted sculpture referencing the
body. Another piece, But a Weak
Smile (2012), is a large piece of grey linen suspended in the wall, its
shape a double entendre- a coy smile, and a distinct hint at the female
reproductive system. I definitely read the bananas differently as I passed by
on the way out.
“LOUD.BROWN.SHROUD” closes on July 14th, don't miss it!
