BE THEREKimberley Hart: "Scout"Presented by Mixed Greens Gallery November 12, 2009- December 23, 2009Reception: November 12, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pmKimberley Hart
Through drawing and sculpture, Hart exposes her alter ego (a mischievous, irreverent young girl who is noticeably absent from the work) as self-reliant but more vulnerable and suspicious than in years past. Once full of sparkles and glitter, this persona is no longer fantasizing about her hunting prowess or setting traps for inappropriate prey. Instead, we find her hunkered down in an austere outpost with few essentials and a concern for an unknown adversary. There are vestiges of a carefree girlhood, but the tenor has changed—a sense of uncertainty has eroded her daring as she struggles to maintain some bravery in the face of a new, foreboding reality. In the front room, Hart’s drawings and sculpture reveal the alter ego’s surroundings, shelter and possessions. A “bank” holds prized, as well as scavenged, provisions and doubles as a repository for a personal currency and objects to barter in this new world. In the back gallery, there is evidence of the outside force from which she is defending herself. Beautifully crafted, ominous vultures skulk and spread their wings near a pivotal piece titled, “The Death of Sparkle.” While Kimberley’s alter ego has proven to be equally prissy and cunning in past exhibitions, she is now overwhelmed by apprehensions and threatened by the malicious marauder responsible for Sparkle’s death. Quirky fantasy and fine craftsmanship remain hallmarks of Hart’s work, but the tone has shifted to reflect a change—both imagined and real—in her environment. There is a marked shift in her alter ego from mischief-maker of the vernal woodlands to a menaced and solitary defender in a dystopic landscape. Kimberley Hart received her MFA in sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design. Since then, she has attended Skowhegan, McDowell Colony, McColl Center for Visual Art and spent two years at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA. She has been included in a number of exciting group exhibitions at prestigious venues including Spaces in Cleveland, OH; untitled(space) in New Haven, CT; Exit Art in New York City; White Columns in New York City; the Institute for Contemporary Art in Portland, ME; Bellwether Gallery in New York City; and Mark Moore Gallery in Santa Monica, CA. She was awarded the Islip Museum’s Carriage House exhibition in 2007. Solo shows in 2008 included the Sumter Country Gallery in Sumter, SC and the Anthony Giordano Gallery on Long Island. Hart’s ambitious piece, Gingerbread Blind, was originally made for Socrates Sculpture Park and is now a project at Mark Dion and J. Morgan Puett’s Mildred’s Lane. Hart received a 2009 NYFA Fellowship in sculpture.
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