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Moments in time, for now and eternity
Sadloch and Hannah at Schmidt Dean Gallery
Csilla Sadloch has a way with a line. Everything looks as though it's been pre-planned and has existed from eternity. Her studies of birds embedded in foliage look like illustrations for a book of poems yet to be written, and her paintings of people endow the most snapshot-like images with a mysterious quality.
In a work like Falling Squirrel, so many things are happening at once! A smiling child, boldly placed at the forefront of the image and moving off the frame, distracts you from the "subject" of the work: a squirrel tumbling through space, having missed its branch. Meanwhile a bemused dog, enthralled by the sight of the tumbling squirrel, does its best to redirect your attention to the business at hand.
In Nacho, a child, paused in the act of chomping down the snack, shares space with a deer whose appearance has clearly startled a dog.
In Vera and the Tulip Branch, the subject is Vera's reaction to the branch brushing against her shoulder, while in Bite, the woman's pained reaction is clearly a response to having been stung by an insect.
Sadloch's sure hand confers an aura of timelessness and inevitability on all of these ephemeral moments of existence.
Poverty amid plenty
Sharing gallery space with Sadloch is Hanna Hannah, who works with mixed media on paper. Hannah is more of a concept artist. In this show we see seven medallion-like images of poverty and want, drawn from various locales, but all of them clearly of the Third World.
But instead of standing alone, these images are mounted in large banners of paper, some decorated with incredible richness, like Victorian wallpaper. Thus we see abundance and want, luxury and privation joined to create a single visual effect.
In a work like Falling Squirrel, so many things are happening at once! A smiling child, boldly placed at the forefront of the image and moving off the frame, distracts you from the "subject" of the work: a squirrel tumbling through space, having missed its branch. Meanwhile a bemused dog, enthralled by the sight of the tumbling squirrel, does its best to redirect your attention to the business at hand.
In Nacho, a child, paused in the act of chomping down the snack, shares space with a deer whose appearance has clearly startled a dog.
In Vera and the Tulip Branch, the subject is Vera's reaction to the branch brushing against her shoulder, while in Bite, the woman's pained reaction is clearly a response to having been stung by an insect.
Sadloch's sure hand confers an aura of timelessness and inevitability on all of these ephemeral moments of existence.
Poverty amid plenty
Sharing gallery space with Sadloch is Hanna Hannah, who works with mixed media on paper. Hannah is more of a concept artist. In this show we see seven medallion-like images of poverty and want, drawn from various locales, but all of them clearly of the Third World.
But instead of standing alone, these images are mounted in large banners of paper, some decorated with incredible richness, like Victorian wallpaper. Thus we see abundance and want, luxury and privation joined to create a single visual effect.
What, When, Where
Csilla Sadloch, “New Paintings,†and Hanna Hannah, “New Paintings.†Through October 23, 2010 at Schmidt/Dean Gallery, 1710 Sansom St. (215) 569-9433 or www.schmidtdean.com.
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