i am flowering – Space & Time, Chicago, IL
street view, i am flowering
fun house, reflective plexi glass, velvet, wooden stand, foam, 2x4s, latex paint, jewelry, 22 x 74 x 24 inches, 2021
the narrows, fun house, nightstand
funhouse, detail
Night Stand, acrylic and latex paint, velvet, stemware, earrings, fake nails, clothing rack, gear tie, other found objects, 21 x 71 x 9 inches, 2021
the narrows, acrylic and ink on canvas, 30 x 40 x 1.5 in, 2020
stackstack, acrylic on wall, dimensions variable, 2021
men’s room, acrylic on canvas, 18 x 24 x 1.5 in, 2020
compact, acrylic and oil on canvas, velvet, fake nails, clothing rack, paper towel, foam, gear tie, epoxy, earrings, 28 x 72 x 26 inches, 2021
i am flowering
March 6 - April 17, 2021
Space & Time announces i am flowering, a solo exhibition by Madeline Gallucci. Gallucci presents work that is diaristic, marked by glimpses of self-portraits, mirror paintings from early quarantine, and velvet sculptures, all showcasing deep introspection alongside performative installation elements. i am flowering was conceived in response to extended physical distancing while completing her MFA at The University of Chicago during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Multiple moments of doubling are found throughout the gallery, drawing attention to points of symmetry and strangeness. Airbrushed cloud portals and columns painted directly on the gallery walls oscillate between stacked glassware or Rorschach tests. These interventions also mimic the architecture of the gallery itself. Paintings of mirrors on canvas are hung on top of the murals to hint at the possibility of slipping between alternate universes. Gallucci prioritizes the physicality of 2D images as a continuum between paintings and sculptures, to dissolve any notions of hierarchy.
Her paintings skillfully capture scratched mirrored surfaces. Glyphs and graffiti, one liners and self-affirmations such as, “I WAS HERE” are immortalized across mirrors in unoccupied rooms. It is nearly impossible to ignore connections to a cinematic history of protagonists hiding behind or appearing in mirrors. Douglas Sirk’s All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind, as well as Rainer Fassbinder’s and Alfred Hitchcock’s films, come to mind. Not quite a house of mirrors, rather a fragment of a current individualistic culture, never ending Zoom meetings, interiors, and selfies reflecting and doubling upon themselves. These artworks are rooted in delicate tactile surfaces, fragility, and celebrate vulnerability.
— Nicole Mauser