Rebecca Ibel Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
Ron Johnson
I have known Linda Gall’s work for ten years. What is always appealing is her overwhelming sense of nostalgia, family and place. The four distinct bodies of work in her recent exhibition, "New paintings, drawings and books," only confirmed my feeling.
Gall observes the world in a rather unique manner, inserting recollection and sometimes found image into her present day view. It is a relationship of figure and nature, of past and present. For example, in the "Waiting for the Sixties" series, Gall inserts a representation of herself as a child into the landscape of the paintings. The psychologically charged paintings provide a sense of the impending, a veritable "what’s next" scenario.
Before she began the "Skylab" series, for instance, she came upon a book at the library documenting the work of the Skylab satellite. The satellite photos show earth’s terrain, both water and land masses. She collides worlds, literally and figuratively, when she adds images from found snapshots that were taken by her stepfather of men working on the earth. It is a witty, inventive space that Gall creates as she fuses the two.
Spawned by a three-month residency in Miami, the "South Beach" series establishes a new language. In these drawings, mainly colored pencil and ink, she mysteriously leaves the figure out of the scene and lets the ocean landscape speak for itself. In each of these drawings, white dots or holes are placed within the plane. The holes dance around the paper, depending on the drawing, in a rhythm that evokes locale. I became entangled in the environment as if her intention were to make me the absent figure.
The other work that caught my attention was a portrait series. These tiny 4 x 4 inch paintings are of people from the Columbus, Ohio art community. What is striking about them is the intimacy and Polaroid-esque quality of the moment. All the images seem genuine in their appearance as if they were taken in the context of conversation or daily life. From the giggling gesture of Ava to the off-handed smile of Jonathan, the paintings are more like snapshots than staged portraits.
In her artist statement detailing the "South Beach" series, Gall says, "I’ve added white holes to my drawings of water, sand and rocks that are reminiscent of multiple moons, bouncing dots of radiance, and dripping necklaces of jewels. The white holes are in direct contrast to my feelings of dread…." She continues, "The white holes open onto earth bringing light and hope, and maybe rescue, from a friendlier sphere of influence."
Information
Susan Kaprov
Anna VanMatre
Julie Karabenick
Charles Hecht
Carol Caputo
Matthew Barney
Dennis Guen
Bill Viola
Tom Otterness
William Kentridge
John Perreault
Marusela Granell
Jennifer Reeves
Siri Berg
Abraham Lubelski
Gerhard Richter
Paul McCarthy
Wang Nanfei
Jolanta Gora-Wita
Jamie Dalglish
Barbara Rosenthal
Peter Kripgans
Keith Morant
Trey Reed
Gencay Kasapci
Michelle Sakhai
