 by Natasha Walter
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, in collaboration with the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program, is currently presenting the provocative show In the Balance. According the MIA website, “The MAEP is an artist-controlled exhibition program ... This curatorial department [of the MIA] is a true study in democracy—its exhibitions are selected by a panel of artists who are elected by and from their peers at an annual meeting of the artist community …” In the Balance features painter Margo Selski and sculptor Davora M. Linder.
Selski’s work explores femininity, motherhood, mythology, fragility and
much more. There is a Renaissance feel to the paintings, with intentional cracks
in the paint that give the pictures an old and fragile feel. The colors are
saturated and regal, with blood reds and electric blues dominating the palette.
While this aesthetic sensibility is essential to the spirit of the work, the
emphasis on symbolism and the feminine mystique provides the depth. Perhaps
the images, relentless in their telling of an ageless story, are the most compelling
feature of Selski’s work. Sirens, fauna and flora, and fairy tale-like
characters are just a few of the pleasingly accessible, but eternally intriguing
symbols.
 In
the painting “The Royal Induction,” a pale, haunted woman encased
in a Faberge egg, save for one exposed breast, loosely holds a Renaissance-collared
infant bedecked with chick fluff and talons. In turn, the child commands an
upside-down marionette, a thimble-sized egg suspended above his head. The marionette
is Little Red Riding Hood, but her feet are disturbingly those of the Big Bad
Wolf. Poised behind the marionette, three ghosts of Red Riding Hood dance toward
the commanding woman. Breathtaking in its evocative beauty and striking in its
emotive quality, the painting sends the viewer on a journey through the soul
of a woman confronted with motherhood, sensuality and the intensity of life
itself.
Sculptor Davora M. Linder also explores the burdens and qualities of the female
experience. “I view all my work as a form of self-portraiture …
created from a corrective impulse to style and present.” Indeed, Linder’s
dolls all seem to be part of one family—a family brought to life by the
artist’s haunting vision. The dolls are disturbingly thin, their hair
nappy and their makeup gaudy, with uncontainable, grotesque fat plaguing their
small bodies. Despite or because of all this, they are magnetic.
The inspiration for the doll “Barbara Stanwyck” came from a “Ball
of Fire” poster in the eighties. The artist viewed Stanwyck as aggressive
but hyper-feminine, sensual but flashy. Thus, her chest is adorned with tattoos
of both vicious tigers and feminine flowers. She stands with a forward pose,
her gender put in question by the penis exposed on the bare doll. Linder plays
with gender with such intensity that the viewer suspends reality, believing
it is truly possible to be both man and woman, or perhaps neither.
The combination of these artists is a feast for the eyes. Walking into the gallery
is analogous to the absorption one feels when a movie begins with a striking
opening frame; one is immediately enraptured and willing to go on whatever ride
the artist has in store. ||
In the Balance runs through Sept. 4 at the Minneapolis Institute
of Arts, 2400 3rd Ave. S., Mpls. 612-870-3131. Hours are Tue.–Wed. 10
a.m.–5 p.m.; Thu. 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Fri.–Sat. 10 a.m.–5
p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Closed Mondays.
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