Saturday, March 12, 2011

First Thursday: Jeffry Mitchell (Pulliam Gallery)



Jeffry Mitchell’s show pot & snowflake is currently on display at Pulliam Gallery. The pieces are largely made up of glazed pots and paper cutouts pressed between panes of glass.


The pots have distortions in their forming, some more exaggerated than others. Holes and cuts are punctured into the material. Animal, floral and geometrical designs are etched into the exterior. Each pot is glazed and the drippings are not corrected, allowing them to coexist with the ever so slightly malformed pot.


The glass panels containing the large rectangular snowflake paper cuts are duct taped together. Viewed alone, a piece can seem to be at undergraduate level crafting skills. The consistency between the many works helps to negotiate this observation. While mostly two dimensional due to the flat surfaces, the attachment of different glass planes together raises this as a sculptural piece. A level of interaction is presumably present as well. The planes seem fully movable, like a doors connected to each other, each able to swing in any direction off the next.


There is a cohesion to what seems to be a carefully perfected aesthetic throughout the installation. The artist has produced many pieces in the same style. The malformations and seemingly unprofessional crafting skills are purposeful.


Jeremy Wenrich

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