Taxonomies @ Thomas Robertello

Taxonomies at Thomas Robertello Gallery featured the work of Sarah Hicks and Peter Barrett. The two artists' work did not complement each other well, which was a shame because each body of work could look better if placed with something else. The title Taxonomies also has to be called into question; it applies readily to Hicks's work, but takes a bit of a stretch for Barrett's. Basically, the fault with the show lies in curation, not in the art itself.
Sarah Hicks ceramic work is both elegant and playful, and borders between decoration and toys. The work, which is divided between “spores” and “specimens” distorts the familiar and sheds new light on the everyday. Hicks takes ordinary objects, casts them in ceramic, and rearranges their parts. She uses a color palette that seems to draw from contemporary interior colors, but arranges them in an unexpected way. Some pieces are glazed so carefully they resemble the skin of an apple or grape, and are absolutely wonderful. The smooth surfaces of the work is contrasted with tiny dots carefully arranged so as to look like mechanical mold. Some of the pieces displayed by themselves on the wall are interesting, but Hicks's work has the most impact when several of the pieces are arranged together, like they were on a mirror at the center of the gallery.
Peter Barrett's work can easily be written off as op-art. Within the several hexagons around the gallery, he uses pattern and color to create illusions of form and movement on paper. What really supports his work is that it is all done by hand. The same outcome could be achieved quickly on the computer, but the fact that he made an arduous process of the work brings it to a new realm and questions what is an artist in the age of computers.