Noelle Allen: Trellis

June 16—July 28, 2012

Carrie Secrist Gallery is pleased to present Noelle Allen: Trellis opening Saturday, June 16 from 4-7 PM. Trellis  is Allen’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. The exhibition runs through July 28, 2012.

Noelle Allen: Trellis introduces a new body of sculpture, biologically inspired forms that allude to the body and cell formation. Informed by the drawings for which she is known, Allen’s sculptures transport her systemic and phantasmagorical sensibilities to the third dimension.

Utilizing a layered palette of materials – clay, plaster, terra cotta, resin, and wax – the artist establishes congealed surfaces that resemble membranes or skin. By juxtaposing this vulnerable tissue with sharp points such as thorns, Allen suggests an inaccessible growth or transformation from within each mass. Tension between representation and abstraction develops as individual components are bonded, jointed, and draped together. While Allen’s forms reference molecular structures, botanical forms, and medical models, they do not mimic the organic; instead the work relies on an aesthetic of fantasy to resist definition. Further interruptions in cohesion and scale test viewers’ sense of texture and depth.

Alongside the body of sculpture, Allen exhibits a new set of drawings. The artist’s detailed, cellular compositions on Mylar evoke the forms she creates in the third dimension. With materials such as graphite, watercolor, and tea, Allen explores the infinite complexity of anatomical structures. As precisely made marks mutate into areas of abstracted line and movement, we note again her interest in corporeal transformation from the inside, out.

Noelle Allen (MFA 2004, School of the Art Institute of Chicago) is Associate Professor of Art at Dominican University. Past exhibitions include the 12×12, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Evanston Art Center; Northeastern Illinois University; Arthouse, Austin, TX; and the Drawing Center, New York. Allen’s studio practice is the subject of a feature article in the summer 2012 issue of Art Ltd., written by critic Caroline Picard.

For more information please contact Carrie Secrist or Stevie Greco at 312.491.0917.