Uncontained Consumption

Joanne Ungar similarly uses discarded waste from mass produced products, specifically the cardboard boxes—the refuse that is instantly disposed of once the box is opened. Ungar’s poured wax paintings by are composed with the geometric forms of recycled packaging, and layered and infused with pigmented wax. Ungar’s complex sense of color transforms base patterns through multiple luminous strata of graded hues, overlaid with controlled density to either obscure or reveal the accumulated layered color. Her luminous wax paintings are created with refined, purified beeswaxes and encaustic medium, creating work that is archival and stable.

From the sidelong view one can see how deep the wax is, but frontally it is visually disorienting: sometimes the forms are right at the surface, but at times seem to fade into the distance. These physically encapsulated structures feel like landscapes, or often cityscapes with abstracted modular building forms getting sharper and fading in the distance. The wax has an inherent atmospheric tone, of sky, fog, or water. And the boxes themselves replete with repetition, angles on angles, do not readily divulge their humble origins. These pieces are cast in thick wax, and the depth is visceral.

Linda Ganjian’s tabletop sculptures composed of hundreds of individual elements evoke Middle Eastern and American Craft traditions. The sculptures Uncontained Consumption, and Consumerist Mandalas were inspired by the infrastructure surrounding the massive container ships that supply us with cheaply manufactured products.

Ganjian became aware of accidents, in which piles of containers fell into the sea, and she imagioned these manufactured products forming beautiful but horrific landscapes, adding to the pollution that is already accumulating. Ganjian collects throwaway plastic packaging from consumer goods and uses it as molds to cast plaster forms. These miniature forms which are arranged into a landscape, surrounded by models of sinking container ships and computer networks. Some of the plaster objects retain traces of the items that they had acted as packaging for, while others are thoroughly unrecognizable.

Marianna Peragallo’s anthropomorphic resin and clay sculptures re-contextualize everyday domestic objects into unexpected new uses. By reassigning the roles of the objects she is referencing, Peragallo subverts the expectations imposed on them. Items like garbage bags, plastic shopping bags, and cleaning supplies are repurposed as vessels that nurture and sustain the growth of houseplants.

The sculptures blur the boundaries between real and surreal; the disposable is transformed into permanent, and cultivated nature is contained in often dismissed, commonplace items. As playful imitations of everyday objects, the sculptures resist easy categorization. Each sculpture, expressing a simple gesture, speaks to the potential for acceptance, care, and love for even the most peripheral things.