Audio By Carbonatix
Keep Dallas Observer Free
We’re aiming to raise $10,000 by April 26. Your support ensures Dallas Observer can continue watching out for you and our community. No paywall. Always accessible. Daily online and weekly in print.
In an interview with the Chicago exhibition space LVL3, artist Rachel de Joode was asked what she hoped people would take with them as they leave her work. She replied, “I want them to think about how strange it actually is to be alive and to be human.” While reviewing her creations — which have shown, are currently showing and will continue to wrap their beautiful, sculptured tentacles around the planet — you realize her words are the a perfect summary. Whether de Joode is layering re-purposed food stuffs with bulbous, almost rupturing piles of clay or propping up formal pillars on slices of processed cheese still wrapped in cellophane, we are faced with more than the absurdity of life. We’re staring down the barrel of its composition. Not only are we here, but we’re creating objects and then choosing whether to cherish or discard them. It hits you on a fundamental level: We are not so different from these items. And yet, for the moment, we all exist. She’s showing her work at Oliver Francis Gallery. The exhibition opens Saturday and runs through September 8. The reception is from 7 to 10 p.m. Visit oliverfrancisgallery.com. Jamie Laughlin
Burlesque
Sat., Aug. 11, 7-10 p.m., 2012
