Untitled (Pandora's Box),
1994
|
racing forms
by p.c. smith
a gallery tip sheet
Bianca Sforni
at Paul Kasmin
Jan. 23-Feb. 22, 1997
Photography's inclusiveness is its unique
virtue. It forces us to see things in
contexts; its accident-prone informality
helps us reassess our perceptions. Bianca
Sforni, on the other hand, gives her
photographs the isolation of monolithic
sculpture. Set against an uninflected
backdrop, taken out of context, her
subjects become enigmas. Some look
vegetable, and many seem mineral, or
perhaps eroded bits of animal shell or
bone, but one can't even judge their scale.
Sforni refuses to identify them. Many have
elegant lines, that flare into a petal-
curve, or bump along to a nub. Sforni's
unobtrusively dramatic lighting revels in
rendering. Besides normal-scaled prints,
the show features five mural prints mounted
on corrugated aluminum, 4 x 8 ft. verticals
that have impressive tonal richness. A
young Italian artist based in Paris, Sforni
calls her second solo at Kasmin "Pandora's
Box." The box is still closed, teasing but
not threatening.
|
