Debra Giller
Lisa Osborn
December 7 - January 5, 2002
Reception: Friday, Dec. 7, 6- 9pm / Artist Talk: Sat.
Dec. 8 @ Noon
Lisa Osborn and
Debra Giller Boston Globe review by Cate McQuaid
Lisa Osborn and Debra Giller create
large, totemic, ceramic sculptures that defy the limitations of
size and complexity usually associated with fired clay works.
Both move beyond function, easy categorization and "table
top" scale to produce expressive, dynamic forms. While Giller
and Osborn simultaneously demonstrate their technical and conceptual
insight in vertical compositions, the similarity between these
two prolific artists stops there.
Debra Giller shifts from technological and architectural forms
to organic and biomorphic in writhing towers of intricate detail
and rich color. Plant and fruit forms sprout from five foot tiers
of alien (or are they microscopic?) structures that harbor hundreds
of lobes, points and appendages of every sort. The fantastic and
bazaar are composed in a convincing radial symmetry that conjures
up images of pollen, plankton or coral polyps. Other towers are
composed of geometric components to generate associations with
futuristic skyscrapers or colonies of living buildings that demonstrate
her mastery of both hand coiling and complex glazing techniques.
The pulsating, vibrating energy of the repeated shapes and colors
bring a vitality to these wild creations that is irrepressible.
In contrast, Lisa Osborn uses her own form and experiences to
get underneath the surface of things. Her quietly expressive over-life-size
human figures are portraits of emotion. Elongated limbs and realistic
facial features allow her work to theatrically narrate the scenes
they inhabit. Osborn poses herself as a central, classical Madonna
in many works relating to motherhood. Her face is sculpted and
slightly smaller than the life-casts used in earlier work. Many
of these tall figures (some over six feet) stand on hemispheric
bases and hold smaller "ball baby" infants. While Osborn
presents figures isolated from their environment to focus on the
psychological intensity of the work, the interaction of the figures
creates a world of their own. Archaic drapery and historical mythological
characters connect our individual struggles with archetypes. Elation
and maternal pride are offset by longing and loss in a series
of work that quietly but powerfully documents our most personal
emotions.
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