{"id":36979,"date":"2017-01-16T21:11:06","date_gmt":"2017-01-17T02:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/?p=36979"},"modified":"2017-02-20T12:36:44","modified_gmt":"2017-02-20T17:36:44","slug":"louise-noguchi-sean-ross-stewart-at-birch-contemporary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/?p=36979","title":{"rendered":"Louise Noguchi & Sean Ross Stewart at Birch Contemporary"},"content":{"rendered":"

The creation of art is a dynamic and experimental process, as it is always expanding into new forms and media in pursuit of something novel.\u00a0 Furthermore, it draws from personal, interpersonal and environmental experiences to determine meaning and strategies. Admittedly, these are fairly broad and generalizable themes, however these characteristics seem to be embellished in Birch Contemporary\u2019s two exhibitions: Searchers <\/em>by Louise Noguchi and New Works <\/em>by Sean Ross Stewart. Both artists have drastically different styles \u2013 Noguchi\u2019s being largely representational and two-dimensional and Stewart\u2019s being more decrepit (as part of the aesthetic) and textural \u2013 yet they emphasized structure and simplicity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Installation view of\u00a0Louise Noguchi,\u00a0Searchers\u00a0<\/em>at Birch Contemporary<\/p>\n

Noguchi\u2019s Searchers <\/em>actually includes two bodies of works thematically and stylistically combined. They address themes of \u201cfutility, determination, and hope\u201d through minimalistic and mesmerizing images. The work Searchers <\/em>is a projected film following the journey of tumbleweeds flowing through suburban winterscapes. The audience watches as these tumbleweeds get caught in brush and fences, playfully kicked around by children and bunted by dogs, and generally intervened by several other factors. As they try to navigate through this unfamiliar and seemingly harsh environment, the tumbleweeds become hopelessly obstructed with their only solace being that Noguchi is there to help it. The film is inherently subtle and yet oddly captivating. Despite the subject being inanimate and mundane, it nevertheless encourages you to sympathize with the journey.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Louise Noguchi,\u00a0Searchers,\u00a0<\/em>2016, video, 12:52 minutes, video still<\/p>\n

The other component of Noguchi\u2019s work is a series of large-scale graphite drawings of makeshift sculptures. Originally constructed by children out of nothing but dried spaghetti and marshmallows, these sketches depict the fragility and vulnerability of the structures and the materials they use. Though they may eventually deteriorate, Noguchi\u2019s drawings luckily immortalize them in a solidified and sound state.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Louise Noguchi,\u00a0Holes In My Fence: Johnson, 2016, 50 \u00bd” \u00d7 60″, graphite on Stonehenge paper<\/p>\n

Contrary to the apparently polished and definitive style of Noguchi, Stewart instead counters it with a more muddied and abstractive aesthetic, based on his own writing:<\/p>\n

Earlier than dawn,<\/em>
\n pathways of work delineated,<\/em>
\n manifested on memory,<\/em>
\n mildew and muck,<\/em>
\n stumbling block bucked,<\/em>
\n scaffolding scrapped,<\/em>
\n reconnected remapped.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Sean Ross Stewart,\u00a0New Works,<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>installation view with Cavity I, 2016, 59″ \u00d7 10 \u00bd” \u00d7 8 \u00be”, cement, steel, wood (center) at Birch Contemporary<\/p>\n

His collection of works embody these words excellently: darkened, nondescript pieces with faint internal pathways and derelict colors. As he iterates, walking amongst his sculptures and paintings feels like wandering amongst fading and collapsing memories, with the audience attempting to reconstruct them through their own interpretation. His sculptures especially demonstrate this sentiment, as they are composed of assorted pieces of wood, concrete, and other debris with only vague semblances of their former selves. Or perhaps, they are desperate attempts to try and reconstruct the fading memories, resulting in very bare-boned and improvised frameworks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Sean Ross Stewart,\u00a0The Sound of Birds, 2016, 48″ \u00d7 72″, oil, acrylic, wax, cement on linen<\/p>\n

Likewise, the paintings appear like thoughts distorted to the point of unrecognition. In some instances, the colors are blotched or bleed into one another, resulting in a derelict display. In others, they only consist of two colors that, similar to the sculptures, seem like simplistic renderings or the stripped substructure of memories long forgotten.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Sean Ross Stewart, Guttered, 2016, 40″ \u00d7 60″, oil on linen<\/p>\n

To a certain extent, Stewart and Noguchi seem to share in the theme of futility and determination, though with regard to different subjects. Noguchi strives to protect against the passage of time that entangles the tumbleweed or will inevitably destroy the marshmallow structures, while Stewart is concerned with preserving and\/or reconstructing fading memories.<\/p>\n

Text and photo: Simon Termine<\/p>\n

*Exhibition information: Louise Noguchi,\u00a0Searchers <\/em>& Sean Ross Stewart,\u00a0New Works,\u00a0<\/em>December 1, 2016 – January 21, 2017,\u00a0\u00a0Birch Contemporary,\u00a0129 Tecumseth Street, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed\u2013Fri\u00a010 am \u2013 6 pm, Sat\u00a011 am \u2013 5 pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Simon Termine<\/strong><\/p>\n

Noguchi strives to protect against the passage of time that entangles the tumbleweed or will inevitably destroy the marshmallow structures, while Stewart is concerned with preserving and\/or reconstructing fading memories.<\/p>\n

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