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Dichotomies present potentially powerful subject matter in contemporary art. A tension between two opposing artistic points of view is on display in Blood Weather, a new installation at the Creative Alliance by Becky Alprin and Lauren Boilini.
Bolini’s works are massive paintings of explosive expression in bodily tones of pink and yellow. The artist has covered all 2000 square feet of the gallery’s walls with a mural painting that feels like an echo of both Picasso’s Rose period and Pollock’s drips. In the manner of her Abstract Expressionist inspirations, she has created an all-encompassing paint environment that surrounds the viewer.
In contrast to the bodily expression of Boilini’s work, Alprin’s presents a cool, removed look at humanity. It is the cultural body in a larger, anthropological sense, which concerns her. This contrast is described by the wall label as if the two artists are looking at humanity “through opposite end of the telescope.” Alprin’s multi-media installation includes a literal excavation of the gallery space – cut out pieces of the gallery wall are reconstructed as an architectural model of a city on the gallery floor. The viewer is invited to walk up to and onto a low pyramid form that has been constructed in the center of the space. At the peak of this form, a small screen shows a stop-motion video of the architectural detritus and geo forms that constitutes her sculptures. Whereas Boilini’s piece surrounds the viewer, Alprin’s work puts the viewer outside of the work, looking in.
The installation’s title, Blood Weather, is at first unsettling. That is, until you consider what brings these two artists together and why this collaborative installation provides a cohesive experience. Boilini provides the viewer with an environmental surrounding, as if they are looking at human form from the inside out. It is a close examination of the passions and anxieties that make up the human soul. Alprin, on the other hand, takes a step back from the individual body to consider the outside forces of geography and culture that influence human experience. In the end, it is this tension between subjective expression and objective situation that defines what it means to be alive.
Blood Weather @ the Creative Alliance
Becky Alprin and Lauren Boilini
On view: February 26th- March 27th
Gallery Talk: Wednesday, March 24th 7pm
Creative Alliance at the Patterson
3134 Eastern Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21224-3964
(410) 276-1651
Tags: Becky Alprin, Blood Weather, Creative Alliance, Lauren Boilini
Filed Under: Feature Sights
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