thread of illusion

In the exhibition, mirrors are positioned amongst Mallon’s ceramic sculptural vignettes, wall paintings and interactive soft sculptures, reflecting visitors and incorporating them into the artworks. As a compliment to the physical reflection of mirrored surfaces in Mallon’s works, Kathy Greenwood’s fiber art installations present illusionary reflections of shadow and light, with painting elements mimicking the pattern cast by the shadow of woven nets.

Sascha Mallon’s ceramic sculptures and wall paintings explore the interconnectedness of nature and cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Mallon’s depictions of people, plants, and animals reference memories, dreams, myths, and stories. The centerpiece of Mallon’s installation, “The Vessel” is painted with symbolic characters from Buddhist iconography, and also imagery which includes a tree holding miniature eye nests with little mirrors inside, a woman standing on a pig, rooster, and a snake. In “Shark Tamer” a woman rides a shark’s back, while two other sharks look on from below, menacing but out of reach. Mallon is a storyteller.

Salvaged and heirloom textiles have long been the material foundation for Kathy Greenwood’s work. Greenwood’s interest in them stems from the way that the ephemera of home can invoke a host of memories and associations. Within that sphere, scrap saving and redemption have long been considered acts of creative thrift that subvert both waste and excess. Wishing Net is composed of cut strips of her family’s discarded clothing that have been stitched and knotted together. The physical and metaphorical are tied together in this installation, titled Wishing Net, allowing for reflection upon the cultural and historical importance of nets as tools, while also considering the many ways that they have entered our mythology.