Devoid

Limitations, parameters, order, and control-- these are entities that have enabled humanity to historically fixate or seemingly control the entropy that is existing within the cosmos. With each grasping attempt, whether through art, religion, science, etc., formulae are developed, tested, utilized, and sometimes abandoned. From December 4 to the 28th, the showing space at SAIC features a titled exhibition, Devoid. Here, there currently seems to be a formula that the LeRoy Neiman Center Gallery is following.  In this effort, artists Kate Conlon, Boyang Hou, Kristy Luck, and Steven Vainberg have attempted to fill an existing void that was already empty. In their works, there is clear precision and intent but within the context of a room with white walls, wood floors, and a seemingly-banal street window, they admit that the work will always be “lacking”.

There is an implication of presence when there is absence. “Individually we dwell in darkness, and as a mass we propagate it.”1 Empty or without. Full or amassed. Void.
Empty or without. Full or amassed. Void.

There is an implication of absence when there is presence. I still wonder if the gallery fulfills these suggestions, no matter where or how the art is situated. Printmaker and sculptor, Katie Conlon makes scientific-seeming, rigid works that seem to toe humor and failure as if there is a near nod. works set within the LNC Gallery.  “...the unperceivable infinity of the cosmos.”1 There is a constant theme of duality, especially concerning lightness and/or/versus darkness.

1 - from SUGS:  Whether in our grandest attempts to impose order onto the cosmos or in our quietest moments of introspection, we look to darkness to define our collective and individual experiences. We fear, dream, think, and search for meaning in darkness. Individually we dwell in darkness, and as a mass we propagate it. Through a diverse range of media, artists Kate Conlon (MFA 2014), Boyang Hou (MFA 2014), Kristy Luck (MFA 2014), and Steven Vainberg (MFA 2014) explore the simultaneously abstract and tangible perception of light and dark, the dichotomy of good and evil, and the unperceivable infinity of the cosmos. Together, works interrogate the mind’s tendency to dive headfirst into the void.

Kristy Luck, Untitled, Ink on Panel, 2013

In lightness

In darkness

In sampled plots:

Steven Vainberg Burden/Remains Acrylic on Canvas of the 2013th calendar year
There is a methodical striping and paneling but it is fractured and in two for one whole. One hole

we dig to demonstrate our might and to unearth our many deaths. Layers and levels and coverage.

And memories of movements and reflected, affected epics. On planes. In planes we hover and 

situate constantly, always above, always below with the blue of distance about to break us in two.

Katie Conlon Orbiter 1 Wood Cast Aluminum and Clementine of the 2013th calendar year

I’ve shrunken and may as well be a rock. I’ve grown and maybe this is my planet. There will be a 

banishing of resource extraction and the sequestration (utilization) of animals for the greater good. 

My planet and Yours, how can I respond without taking a quick bite? You taste metallic and dry.

Boyang Hou Strike (1) and (2) Photographs of the 2013th calendar year

Black box. Black box. Laser, interference, diffraction, image and plastic at eye-height. Dangers 

and lightning and bearing witness (more than once). This is in Your line of sight, You are in the line of sight.

Kristy Luck Untitled and Untitled Ink on Panel of the 2013th calendar year

Styrene in black and white. Sister chromatids. The lung tumors in mice.

Devoid

The LeRoy Neiman Center Gallery | December 4 – 28

37 South Wabash Ave., Suite 106, Chicago, IL 60603

Gallery hours: Mon-Fri: 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 pm Sat: 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. alternate times by appointment

Featured Artists: Kate Conlon - Boyang Hou - Kristy Luck - Steven Vainberg