Structured Simplicity presents a group of artists, Mai Braun, Hilary Harnischfeger, Elana Herzog, Fabienne Lasserre, and Amy Yoes, who work in sculpture and site-specific installation. From a formalist and abstract perspective, the exhibition investigates aspects of simplicity, taking purification as a point of departure i.e. making things simpler through structure, be they confined or chaotic. In bringing this group together, the curator, Felicity Hogan, seeks to explore varying manifestations of this concept and how structures are formed and conveyed through diversity of approach and use of materials.
The exhibition debuts new site-specific works by Mai Braun, Elana Herzog and Amy Yoes as well as previously unseen new works by Fabienne Lasserre and Hilary Harnischfeger. Fabienne Lasserre’s humorously crafted and sensual sculptures, striking a bold intelligent balance between the logical and illogical, are positioned alongside Mai Braun’s mischievously formed shredded NY Times-mâché piece: Your Emotions Make You a Monster. Mai Braun’s stacked cardboard boxes parallel and echo Amy Yoes’ mechanical hard-edged installation. Hilary Harnischfeger’s deftly sliced and angular sculptures complement Elana Herzog’s de-constructed garments and bed linens, patched aggressively with compulsively tacked staples. Additional connections will be reinforced through proximity. An influence of rudimentary materials is common to all artists with processes that revel in tension and release. In the art of Amy Yoes, Hilary Harnischfeger and Mai Braun, the subtle use of planes and angles form associations that display contrasting use of a comparable visual language. Manipulation and the distortion of architectural form further connect works by Amy Yoes and Elana Herzog.
Structured Simplicity was developed in response to the distinctive architecture and characteristics of the DAC gallery. While sculpture and installation are the primary focus, the exhibition also includes bas-reliefs by Hilary Harnischfeger and works on paper by Mai Braun as well as a new video by Amy Yoes created especially for Structured Simplicity. Via (ArtDaily)
