Sunday, May 01, 2011

Laura Sharp Wilson

Screen,2010

Acrylic and graphite on Unryu paper mounted on wood

27 ¼ x 26 ¾ inches


Yelling at Strangers, 2010

Acrylic and graphite on Unryu paper mounted on wood, 12 x 12 inches


McKenzie Fine Art

511 West 25th St. NYC


I was fortunate to see this show before it closed on April 30th. Working on a small scale, Wilson's work is very dense and intricate. She applies rice paper to the surface of prepared wooden panels and creates these fantastic worlds of densely patterned string like meanderings. Binding and fencing are recurring themes. There is a beautiful prison stuck here. These are precious works of art with a tortured and meticulously rendered surface that synthesizes multiple decorative elements. These compositions are fascinating to look at. They hold the eye and do not disappoint. Botanical references are insinuated, all of the linear elements seem to bind themselves up in a carefully contained composition just this side of chaos. These little lovelies are obsessive and lyrical in their layered and nearly cacophonous resolve.