Exhibit A past art exhibitions: Fertile Ground, Selected New Works by Joanna Manousis, 2012

FERTILE GROUND:
selected new works by Joanna Manousis
March 23 - July 14, 2012

Joanna Manousis is known for utilizing ambitious glass casting techniques and for using the properties of glass to inform her work. This solo exhibition features three groupings. In two she incorporates taxidermic birds. Other forms such as pomegranates, oysters, thread and cans of hair lacquer are rendered in glass, both as positive objects and negative spaces. All come together in a dialog about what is real and what is artifice.

Artist's Statement: Fertile Ground

My work often toys with the sense of what is real and what is artifice. Often, I re-appropriate objects that exist in the world, and in their grouping, materiality and relation to space, bring to light a new dialogue. I am interested in the way that translucent glass can reveal something to the viewer’s gaze yet simultaneously act as a barrier. In my recent practice I have taken advantage of the reflective properties of glass and mirror to enliven a surface, thus turning a static object into a living entity.

Fertile Ground consists of three bodies of work, each interconnected aesthetically and in conceptual undertone. The objects encapsulated in ‘Distilled Portrait I, II, and III’ have been carefully selected to reflect, both literally and metaphorically the identities of three individuals. The magpie, believed to be one of the most intelligent of all animals is one of the few species known to be able to recognize itself in a mirror. In ‘Distilled Portrait I’ the bird represents the collector. Here she sits on top of the jar, peering intently at her reflection in three dimensions within the jar.

Each object in the ‘Distilled Portrait’ series has been cast as a positive solid sculpture in crystal. Silver leaf has been applied to accentuate certain areas of the object while implying that the mirror has been scratched away to reveal a translucent memory of what was once there.

‘Fertile Ground’, consist of a full size taxidermy peacock encrusted with clear crystal succulent cacti looking to grow from beneath the birds feathers. The piece intertwines the notion of what is real and imaginary. The peacock itself acts as a fertile ground for the embellishment that grows within it. Here both flora and fauna are a mere reflection of what the living entities once were.

FERTILE GROUND: selected new works by Joanna ManousisMarch 23 - July 14, 2012

Artist's Statement: Fertile Ground

Links:

FERTILE GROUND:
selected new works by Joanna Manousis
March 23 - July 14, 2012