"Barbara Nessim: Black Truths/White Lies"
2003-10-25 until 2003-11-29
bitforms gallery
New York, NY, USA United States of America

Barbara Nessim thinks through lines.  As we look at her outlined figure - suspended in reverie, in contemplation- it's as if we are catching them in a private moment fixed in time.  Or, at least we imagine this to be so.  We endow these lined gestures with life, and imagine them, in relation to the lines that surround them, entwined within a scenario.  We ascribe associative narratives within which these figures are enmeshed.  It seems personal, deep.  We know these moments - they are strangely familiar. 

When, in a state of reverie, we contemplate these lined figures, we are startled to catch a glimpse of ourselves on a non-reflective surface.  It's a wonder how we identify with these lined figurations as we imagine them mimicking ourselves.  With such an economy of line, Nessim seems to have captured the intersection of psychological and worldly predicaments that mirror our own.  And, as we ascribe our own personal self-reflexivity to these lines, Nessim's work is transformed into the thinking person's art - suspended in a reflective mirror stage. - Maureem Nappi

bitforms promote their artists through their absolutearts.com Gallery Portfolio. View more work by and information about bitforms' artists at: galleries.absolutearts.com/galleries/bitforms.

IMAGE
Barbara Nessim
Symbol #1, 1995
Acrylic on 100% rag paper on rice board on ngator board
Edition of 1, signed
44"x33" unframed

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