The Dufferin bus was suddenly drenched in a unfamiliar phenomenon: Sunshine! We looked around, stunned, and blinked weakly.
MKG127 – Liza Eurich
What initially attracted me to drop by MKG127 and take in an exhibition by Liza Eurich was the appealing artist’s statement on the Gallery website. See below (reproduced in its entirety):
Eurich will be presenting work that: emphasizes negative space, is hollow, has a faceted surface, contains other work(s), is concealed, is layered, has multiple components, is not a multiple, is like a drawing, incorporates text, is stationary, has reticent characteristics, is monochromatic, uses straight lines only, references Agnes Martin, is fragile, consists of more than three materials, is made of ceramic, was built, is freestanding, requires a plinth, uses keyholes, uses a French cleat, is in its third iteration, is in a series of three, is positioned adjacently, is architectural, references something from an Ikea catalogue, is functional, is recognizable, does not resemble an animal, was almost omitted.
Based on this text I anticipated hardcore post-conceptual, neo-minimalist works but something about the slightly off-kilter, cannily understated writing assured me it would be fresh, distinctive and droll.
Installation view of Liza Eurich exhibition
Just as the writing suggests, the exhibition, titled Either a New or Existing Character, is a collection of unique items with various attributes: is wood, is thin, is freestanding, hangs on the wall, painted white, stained and…. so on. The art works are diverse but nearly all could be described as spare, restrained, subtle, precise and strangely reminiscent of some carefully crafted maquette or fragment of a maddening Ikea puzzle that just will not fit together.
The delicate piece below is fitted with what could possibly be a tantalizing scrap from an instruction manual.
Eeeee: not for placing by Liza Eurich
I really liked the cool, deadpan industrial look of Liza Eurich’s larger sculptures. They are so perfectly suited for some mysterious function. Are they a tribute to the Scandanavian juggernaut on the Queensway?
Freestanding two sided rack by Liza Eurich
Shelving: six additions by Liza Eurich
Occasionally Liza Eurich adheres some murky graphics to her sculptures. Apparently these images are from a single book found by the artist. Possibly medical or antique technological illustrations, these random bits of imagery, placed with such constraint and exactitude, add to the sense of an architectural model but one that references time and atmosphere as well as structure.
3 levels, pedestal base by Liza Eurich
Two components, layered rectangle by Liza Eurich
Resting on a pedestal is an artpiece initally reminiscent of a vessel of some kind. It’s made of deep black broken tiles which dip and swerve to encase a naturalistic form. Mishapen, gnarly, almost expressive, the soft black tiles absorb and reflect light like a big lump of bitumen.
Facets by Liza Eurich
Liza Eurich keeps her ideas on simmer and doesn’t give away too much. I left the gallery with an appreciation for the subtle feeling of hesitancy and tension that was created.
annetteandquebec 