Sloan Projects is pleased to present Laura Forman : New Work. On view January 14 – February 25, 2017. A public reception for the artist will be held Saturday, January 14 from 5-7pm. This exhibition marks the artist’s first solo show with the gallery and in Los Angeles.
Among the latest works by Laura Forman, are what the artist calls “charismatic objects,” masterfully rendered using pastels and graphite on paper, as well as polystyrene foam and white foam coat, sanded to a porcelain-like finish. There is a striking diversity among the objects, which include a seductive Victorian fainting couch, a dramatically glorified cape, and a confessional booth surrounded by the meticulous chalkboard scribblings of Euler’s Formula; a mathematical equation noted for its particular aesthetic beauty. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a sensitively sculpted rendition of a baby’s foot, magnified to whimsical proportions at nearly 5 feet high. This freestanding anatomical behemoth is a study in classical beauty, much like the Greek ruins it evokes. Poised but detached, it sits like a spectacular fragment of civilization; a testament to humankind’s unwavering attempts to master raw matter in the name of idolatry.
Underlying Forman’s favored subjects is her interest in themes of hubris; the endearing history of humankind’s need to create order from chaos; and the collective hysteria of the present day. Her rendition of Euler’s Formula, for example, uses the free flowing and ephemeral look of chalk on chalkboard, complete with erasure marks, to depict an equation used by engineers to build things durable and lasting. In a particularly poignant yet amusing triptych, the artist combines drawings of Trinity-Plutonium Implosion Fission (a reference to nuclear weaponry), A Schnattlacher ProNose (a rubber clown’s nose) and Parmenides Unitary Theory of Being, (a theory about the nature of existence from ancient Greece). This type of visual hyperbole and dialogue between elements allows the artist to strike an empathetic and sometimes humorous chord, even with subjects as complex as the destiny of our species and the unrelenting desire to control and transcend it.
Laura Forman is a multimedia artist working primarily in sculpture, drawing, and painting. She received her BFA from CalArts in 2005 and is the former studio assistant to artists Charles Gaines, Mike Kelley, and Kaari Upson. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, the artist lives and maintains a studio in Los Angeles.
For more information about Laura Forman’s work, please contact the gallery at (424) 744-8265 or mail@sloanprojects.com
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