January 14 – February 25, 2006
Opening reception: January 14, 6–8 pm
Artist Talk: 6:30 pm
Lora Reynolds Gallery is pleased to announce our first solo exhibition of new work by Los Angeles-based artist Francesca Gabbiani, entitled Wonderland.
Gabbiani is known for her often large-scale, extraordinarily intricate, cut-paper collages with acrylic and gouache. The works are intensely beautiful; they seduce with their meticulous nature and eerie sense of déjà vu. Although the cut-paper construction is reminiscent of childlike innocence, the imagery elicits a more ominous atmosphere. The title piece of the show, a large-scale interior with a vase full of radiantly warm flowers contrasted with a dark staircase behind, refers both to Lewis Carroll's fantastical fairy-tale and the 1970's murders in Los Angeles on Wonderland Avenue.
Francesca Gabbiani cites cinematic atmospheres, particularly in the films of Dario Argento, as well as the city of Los Angeles itself as influences on her work. While the interiors are more reflective of cinematic elements, the exteriors appear to be more universal in subject matter. They seem to portray peaceful, even romantic, sunsets until one reads their titles; Aftermath and The Fall.
The exhibition will include seven new collages, as well as the White Book. This newly published artist book was inspired by the popular non-fiction novel, Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, about the Chicago's World Fair of 1893 and a serial killer who stalked in the midst. Painstakingly conceived and organized white paper laser cut miniatures of architectural structures, particularly the Ferris wheel, reveal the magical appeal and the horrifying events of that World's Fair. The book mimics how many American nursery rhymes and folk songs carry a sweet melody with frightening, sometimes violent lyrics. The 'White Book' appears sweet and pure but a darker story awaits the reader.
Francesca Gabbiani was born in Montreal in 1965 and has thrice received the Swiss Federal Award of Art, where she attended the Ecole Superieure des Beaux Arts, Geneva. She had two solo museum exhibitions this past summer, including a mid-career retrospective at the CentrePasquArt, Bienne, Switzerland and a show of new work at the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum. Her work may be seen currently at MOCA, Los Angeles. In addition, her work has been included in exhibitions at the UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and at the Kunstverein Wolfsburg, Germany.