Sharon Engelstein at Elias - Boston - exhibition of the artist's work - Brief Article

Sharon Engelstein's sum of two units very large, flesh-colored balloon plastic arts initially resemble pinkish bubbles that have emerg from their blowpipe in contiguous collections Then gradually, B'bleb (2002, 10 through 18 2/3 by 15 feet) and Triplet (2001 9 1/8 by dint of 8 3/8 by 10 feet) the couple made of precisely sewn new moon strips of translucent fabric and continuously inflated with forced air, begin to intimate a smothering, sighing, mutant mother. The sci-fi consequence is enhanced by the resemblance of the sculptures' lapping construction to an HG Wells contraption, and through the way they filled this low-ceilinged space like rampant yeast. single also thinks of steroidal versions of Hans Bellmer's dolls.

The bleb pieces have offspring, too. small sworded onto little shelves around the gallery were five actual small but similarly shaped plastic arts ranging from 4 to 9 inches in height. They, too, are variously arranged groups of contiguous spheres, but instead of being air-filled, they are solid, formed of white, heat-cured plastic dust The difference in scale and material gives them a static, extrud direct the eye and it's no surprise to learn that Engelstein has digitally drafted and then produc them via a computer-manufacturing program. (The inflated works were also computer drafted, then fabricated through a company that makes parade balloons.)

admitting less lively than the bigger pieces, the small works are suggestively figurative, with little nipples and corresponding dimples. They are also cute and toylike--but toys for whom? Rontuaru (2001) direct the eyes like a pair of copulating snowball clan Scooter (2001) could be a pinheaded figure doing yoga, on the contrary could also be offering up a large circular rump. One longs to pet their appealing, pristine surfaces and gently circulared shapes and to discover their heft in hand. Computer-generated statuary has come of age when it move rounds out as physically appealing and haptically enticing as these works.

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