Skin

Cynthia Broan Gallery is pleased to announce Skin, a solo exhibition of sculptural works by Clarina Bezzola which present formal metaphors for the construction and perception of relationships. Skin is the boundary and the point of contact between the self and the other. It contains and defines us as whole and independent, protecting us from the outer world. This vulnerable barrier must be breached, however, for us to have any connection to the world, and the risks involved cause us to structure our relationships so as to maintain boundaries within our bonds. Bezzola combines metalsmithing and dressmaking to construct the dynamics of our existence as an ironic and paradoxical system of interdependence. Her perfect balance of relaxed domestic comfort and rigid, clinical control reveal our deepest sense of attachment and separation.

Bezzola's work deals with issues of controlled interaction and perception. Her earlier works were devised as protective barriers made of welded and pounded metal and cushioning felt, expressing the desire to block out the world for improved concentration as well as relief. The complex constructions exhibited in Skin represent the bondage of connection and isolation, the vulnerability of exposure and the futility of self-sufficiency. Each piece tells a story of the creation of psychological paradigms to support the contradiction of needs and fears, the tension between pain and pleasure. The artist, who grew up in a farming village in Switzerland, developed her sense of domestics from memories of animals raised in controlled systems of confinement, breeding and feeding. The piece titled Fixation suspends a relaxed pig-like form over an incubator meticulously crafted of opaque glass and white enameled metal. The creature is made of pillow stuffing covered in floral fabric cut from women's housecoats, its six hanging leg-breast appendages clad in stainless steel attachments and rubber tubes which pass through the glass barrier into the vitrine. Looking down inside we find that an identical form is connected below the glass. The piece is sterile yet nurturing, and the animals are carefully connected to sustain life, but are unable to move. Because the figures are a mirror image of each other, we see that even within this close connection, they are actually fixated on themselves.

One at a Time, another wheeled vitrine, holds a feeding contraption which turns with a hand crank. The machinery resembles a rotating ring of breasts made of stuffed housecoat fabric and quilted fleshy material, each capped with a chrome gasket which slides through a small slit as the crank is turned. It is an absurd invention for careful administration of love. Throughout the show, the flowery material smothers the plush forms, humorously demonstrating the domestic urge to create a cheerful, comfortable environment that can feel both safe and suffocating. In Symbiosis a chrome framework holds two identical forms exposed yet imprisoned, cuffed together through a mirrored barrier. Another piece holds a mirror between two limbs covered in fabrics which are similar yet clashing. The theme of perception and proximity is reflected in the mirrors, which cause the forms to feel the other yet see themselves. As the pieces lose their protective framework, they seem to internalize their barriers and exist within their own mental constructions, cloaking themselves in prettiness to the point of self-deception.


	Skin Clarina Bezzola Cynthia Broan Gallery, New York March 30 – May 6, 2000 Opening Reception: Thursday, March 30, 6 – 9 PM
	Cynthia Broan Gallery is pleased to announce Skin, a solo exhibition of sculptural works by Clarina Bezzola which present formal metaphors for the construction and perception of relationships. Skin is the boundary and the point of contact between the self and the other. It contains and defines us as whole and independent, protecting us from the outer world. This vulnerable barrier must be breached, however, for us to have any connection to the world, and the risks involved cause us to structure our relationships so as to maintain boundaries within our bonds. Bezzola combines metalsmithing and dressmaking to construct the dynamics of our existence as an ironic and paradoxical system of interdependence. Her perfect balance of relaxed domestic comfort and rigid, clinical control reveal our deepest sense of attachment and separation. Bezzola's work deals with issues of controlled interaction and perception. Her earlier works were devised as protective barriers made of welded and pounded metal and cushioning felt, expressing the desire to block out the world for improved concentration as well as relief. The complex constructions exhibited in Skin represent the bondage of connection and isolation, the vulnerability of exposure and the futility of self-sufficiency. Each piece tells a story of the creation of psychological paradigms to support the contradiction of needs and fears, the tension between pain and pleasure. The artist, who grew up in a farming village in Switzerland, developed her sense of domestics from memories of animals raised in controlled systems of confinement, breeding and feeding. The piece titled Fixation suspends a relaxed pig-like form over an incubator meticulously crafted of opaque glass and white enameled metal. The creature is made of pillow stuffing covered in floral fabric cut from women's housecoats, its six hanging leg-breast appendages clad in stainless steel attachments and rubber tubes which pass through the glass barrier into the vitrine. Looking down inside we find that an identical form is connected below the glass. The piece is sterile yet nurturing, and the animals are carefully connected to sustain life, but are unable to move. Because the figures are a mirror image of each other, we see that even within this close connection, they are actually fixated on themselves. One at a Time, another wheeled vitrine, holds a feeding contraption which turns with a hand crank. The machinery resembles a rotating ring of breasts made of stuffed housecoat fabric and quilted fleshy material, each capped with a chrome gasket which slides through a small slit as the crank is turned. It is an absurd invention for careful administration of love. Throughout the show, the flowery material smothers the plush forms, humorously demonstrating the domestic urge to create a cheerful, comfortable environment that can feel both safe and suffocating. In Symbiosis a chrome framework holds two identical forms exposed yet imprisoned, cuffed together through a mirrored barrier. Another piece holds a mirror between two limbs covered in fabrics which are similar yet clashing. The theme of perception and proximity is reflected in the mirrors, which cause the forms to feel the other yet see themselves. As the pieces lose their protective framework, they seem to internalize their barriers and exist within their own mental constructions, cloaking themselves in prettiness to the point of self-deception.