Eyewash@FISH TANK presents
4 Square
an exhibition featuring LINDA GANJIAN, AMY KAO,
MARK MASYGA & SHARI MENDELSON
Curated by Annie Herron & Larry Walczak

DATES: JAN 24th ­ FEB 23rd, 2003
OPENING: FRI, JAN 24th, 7 - 9 p.m.
HOURS: FRI - MON, 12 Noon - 6 p.m. and by appointment
LOCATION: eyewash@ FISH TANK
93 N. 6th Street, (Between Berry & Wythe Aves.)
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Linda Ganjian, detail, Garden of Delight, 2003, mixed media, approximately 4" h x 7"w x 7"d
As do all four artists, LINDA GANJIAN works in an extremely repetitive
format, yet creates a whole world every single time so convincingly, that each piece seems more fresh and engaging than the last. Ganjian molds glue-gun glue against small, humble, everyday metal objects (like small pieces of hardware), and it’s then peeled off and collaged together, actually glued to itself. She then spray-paints the results gold or copper, creating her own unique little beings and their accoutrements. She then spray-paints the results gold or copper, creating her own unique little beings and their accoutrements. In aggregate, they form what might be busy groups of beings performing their peculiar tasks surrounded by clusters of their dwellings. She arranges her bizarre, elegant microcosms on specially shaped tables or pedestals, covered with jewel-colored velvet cloths, then carefully determines the height, which varies from piece to piece, affording the viewer a special artist-chosen vantage point.

AMY KAO’s pieces consist of layering and incisions of white sheet rubber components that inherit their forms from various camouflage motifs. The pieces are mounted flush to the wall, creating a seamless edge between the sheet rubber and the surface of the wall. Not unlike camouflage as seen in its conventional context, such as in nature or in combat, Kao’s pieces challenge the boundary between figure and ground; they exist in a kind of void, simultaneously disappearing into the ground and becoming the ground themselves. As camouflage denotes, it is immanently about disguise, about the unseeable. These pieces underscore the paradox of perceiving the unseen.

MARK MASYGA again and again paints brightly colored (perhaps) fantastic construction sites on charcoal grounds of various sizes. His companion photographs are of construction sites that he selected because they reminded him of his paintings, and are surprisingly similar to his imagined “sites.” Because of his choice of imagery, they represent something always in an in-between state, as opposed to a finished object or thing, making them feel open-ended and full of potential, a nice counterpoint to their obsessive formal completeness and perfection.

SHARI MENDELSON’s new linear sculptures are built from the assembly of wire-rimmed squares, rectangles and/or other geometric units filled in with pieces of colored Plexiglas. The shapes are connected, in an unabashedly low-tech manner, forming sculptures that resemble Jetson’s dollhouses or (alien?) birdhouses, among other things. They seem so spontaneous and she has such a light touch, it’s almost as though they just “come out of her” the way a bird sings. They almost feel organic as if they are growing — which is a nice contrast to the man-made, high tech choice of shapes and materials.

ANNIE HERRON, is an Williamsburg-based Independent Curator/Dealer who has been involved with several galleries in NYC, including Semaphore East in the East Village, TEST-SITE in Williamsburg and BLACK+HERRON Space in Soho as well as eyewash. She has also organized exhibitions in other peoples’ spaces in NYC and elsewhere in the U.S.

Artist, Educator and Curator LARRY WALCZAK started eyewash in June 1997 on the 3rd Floor of a turn-of-the-century residential building in Williamsburg. Since January 2002, it has been a "migratory gallery," either collaborating with other galleries, or producing shows in borrowed or otherwise temporarily acquired spaces. It specializes in showcasing emerging and mid-career artists from Brooklyn.

F O R F U R T H E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Please contact LARRY WALCZAK at 718 387 2714