View by Dorothy Cross – review

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Autumn is a time of light turning to darkness: of decline, decay, stillness and  liminality. View, a showing of new work from Dorothy Cross, is a fitting exhibition to lead us into the season. The mood within the space is one of contemplation and transience, with the visitor being moved to examine the effects of the passage of time on being. Abstract as all of this may sound, the show is hugely accessible. It is relatively compact, meaning visitors should not feel overwhelmed by the range of ideas being put forward.

The gallery’s normally concealed west facing window has been revealed, flooding the space with light as well as forging a link between nature and culture. It illuminates a central row of sculptures created out of appropriated objects including a barrister’s wig, shark skin, the right and left lobes of a human skull suspended from a clothes hanger, and culminates in a battered and chipped wooden door mounted on the east wall. Many of the materials employed are rich – gold leaf, sterling and Italian alabaster – but their treatment is anything but ostentatious. A standout work is Paper Mountain which sees nine sheets of cast paper roughly layered and sculpted, creating a cross section of a mountainous landscape that is devoid of time or place.

Meanwhile, the flanking walls are punctuated by large, vivid photographs of the Connemara landscape taken by Cross, placed alongside bleaker images. Each one acts as an evocative portal into a different world from which the visitor is removed, but transported to by the act of looking. These pictures also serve to temper the surreal sculptures which they surround. While the sculptural element of the show may appear complex and challenging at times, this photographic component adds an extra element of accessibility and balance to the exhibition as a whole.

In November, the artist will present a personal selection of works from the National Collection to go on display at IMMA. A visit to View should serve as the starting point for what appears to be a hectic Autumn for one of Ireland’s most lauded contemporary artists.

Images courtesy of the artist and Kerlin Gallery, Dublin.
Images courtesy of the artist and Kerlin Gallery, Dublin.

View runs until October 18 at Kerlin Gallery, Anne’s Lane.

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