Anna Zorina brought a bit of warmth to a chilly Thursday in Chelsea with the debut of Patty Horing‘s Reflection. Horing is known for creating honest but glaring portraiture that stays with the viewer long after they have left the gallery. To say that Horing’s work is memorable would be a well-intentioned understatement. There is a distinctive sincerity to her pieces. Even Horing’s abstract, almost cartoonish twist adds a certain touch that gives her body of work a familiar identity. The subjects are complete strangers who you somehow manage to see yourself in. It is this phenomena that allows Reflection to resonate and register.
Reflection is Horing’s fourth solo exhibition with Anna Zorina and thusly saw an expansion of the artist’s creative palette–a rather pleasant surprise amongst the windows of portraiture. Titled Imperfect Vessel, the ceramic vases are peppered throughout the space. Having a candid appeal that features scenes of “solo nudes, who interact with their own reflections, their cell phones, household objects, etc.,” the functional sculptures are actually commentary on how a woman’s body takes on many forms over time. There is even meta moment where figures are seen looking at vases themselves.
‘Reflection’ as a show came together very organically, Instead of creating work to fit a theme or idea, I spent the last 3 years just making what I felt like making, pursuing a bunch of different ideas in spurts — a narrative group of paintings about a relationship, some surreal still life paintings that featured my own sculptures as ‘characters’, big portraits, ceramic vases with painted scenes on them, etc. The common thread was that many of the works featured reflective elements — mirrors, windows, device screens — that often served to redouble some aspect of the psychological narrative. Almost all pieces show interior scenes where figures are in worlds of their own creation, boxed in in some way by these reflective surfaces. Plus, lots of thinking! So ‘Reflection’ landed just right.
– Patty Horing on Reflection
Reflection is on display at Anna Zorina Gallery (532 West 24 Street, Ground Floor
New York, NY 10011) until November 15th.
Akeem is our founder. A writer, poet, curator and profuse sweater, he is responsible for the curatorial direction and overall voice of Quiet Lunch. The Bronx native has read at venues such as the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, KGB Bar, Lovecraft and SHAG–with works published in Palabra Luminosas and LiVE MAG13. He has also curated solo and group exhibitions at numerous galleries in Chelsea, Harlem, Bushwick and Lower Manhattan.