Allison Read Smith: Thugs
January 20th to Feb 28th 2011
Exhibited at Former Open Source Gallery at 255 17th St. Brooklyn, NY and Sidecar at 560 5th Ave. Brooklyn, NY
In 2011, Open Source Gallery will exist as a peripatetic operation. In November of 2010 a 5-alarm fire in the gallery’s neighboring building devastated the Open Source project space. All the artwork and equipment was lost. Open Source Gallery is currently homeless as the estimated renovation time is at least six months. Despite this tragedy, we endeavor to persevere through itinerant occupancies at various locales throughout Brooklyn as we await the return to our former home. To continue monthly exhibitions, we are looking for “pop-up” rentals, vacant stores, and empty spaces in all neighborhoods in Brooklyn and New York City. Every month a show will be displayed in a new space and different area.
Allison Read Smith opens the exhibition cycle on January 20, 2011. Her series, “Thugs,” will be displayed on the plywood currently covering the gallery space. Ms. Smith is the logical choice to start the year, especially given the situation of our project space. “Thugs” wittingly deals with the notion of fear, making her work the perfect introduction for our upcoming year.
When talking about her series, “Thugs,” Allison Smith shares her story that inspired the work:
“Years ago I was jumped by a group of kids. I was not robbed or even hurt, just scared. And for the life of me I could not describe one of them. This series is an attempt to retrieve levity from fear. My thugs are mean or funny or sad or pitiful; they are good and bad all at once. They are the aggressor and the victim.”
Around the corner her rubber sculptures will be presented at the South Slope institution, SIDECAR, on 560 5th Ave. These works evoke both menace and familiarity. The artist’s loose handling transforms pedestrian materials into an installation of unsettling beauty. In her piece entitled “Frog Prince,” the subject has one entreating hand open, mouth curved in an smirk with ten crowns floating above his head. Other rubber sculptures include tables and chairs hung on the wall, ready to fly off. Birds are playing dead and rabbits hang from the wall.
The following is from Allison’s artist statement:
“Okay, I will be perfectly honest up front and say that I have never found artist’s statements particularly helpful. It seems a lot of “my work” and “I feel” and “dualities” and “embodiments” ad infinitum. I do, however, love stories about why something was made or what in their youth, perhaps, it is reminiscent of. So, here we go…“I feel my work embodies dualities.”
