Queen of the ceramic baroque, Rain Harris, sent me a few images of her new installation at Nexus, “Cherry Crush.” This is the artist’s second solo with the coop gallery and she’s gone wild with pink and orange and with dots.
Harris whom Libby and I have both written about seems to have dispensed with her trademark poison bottles and Louis XVI opulence for something more teeny bopper in the 70s. (See here and here for images and info about her previous aesthetic) Knee-length white plastic boots, long straight hair and mini skirts would be right at home here. And I want to say she should have served those “dots” candies that come in long paper strips at the opening.
The show’s up through Sept. 25 and Nexus by the way is open on Sundays from 12-6 pm. There will be a gallery talk Sunday, September 25th at 4p.m
From the press release: “I didn’t want to restrain myself,” says Rain, “I wanted to give myself the license to be as extravagant as I could possibly be.”
I haven’t seen the installation but these images point to the artist’s success in achieving extravagance. They also show her pushing more and more into the land of installation immersion, something our town’s Virgil Marti does so well. This may be a turning point for Harris. The affect is new. It’s always exciting to see an artist push it.
