Nora Aslan - May you live in interesting times

Nora Aslan
Stuff, 2008
Collage , 40 x 60 inches
The following is a press release from Pavel Zoubok Gallery concerning an upcoming exhibit of collage works by Nora Aslan, a Latin American artist.

Nora Aslan
Nora Aslan: Tiempos Interesantes

October 10 - November 8, 2008
PAVEL ZOUBOK GALLERY is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of new work by Argentine artist NORA ASLAN. Please join us for the opening reception on Friday, October 10, from 6-8pm, or during the run of the exhibition, which continues through November 8.

The gallery is located at: 533 West 23rd Street (between 10th & 11th Avenues)
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am-6pm

May you live in interesting times - so goes the ancient Chinese proverb and curse. In
NORA ASLAN’s newest series of richly patterned photo-based collages, bubble-like clusters float precariously over densely packed expanses of image fragments forming imaginary topographies that point metaphorically to an uncertain future. Through a complex interplay of decorative and documentary imagery, her collages testify to the instability and collective suffering of our global society - one plagued by war, environmental and economic turmoil. Working from a background in both architecture and textile design, Aslan has developed a unique visual language that combines elements of photomontage and painting. The artist’s third solo exhibition at Pavel Zoubok Gallery features two new collages on paper and eight large-scale works on canvas that continue her exploration into the complex relationship between art and mass culture.

The works from this series explore our collective state of anxiety in a year of enormous political, social and economic change. And while the state of Aslan’s native Argentina would certainly provide ample inspiration, her work maintains a distinctly international point of view. Using a combination of circular and rectangular forms, she draws the viewer into a series of rhythmic grids and vortices. The confluence of Aslan’s opulent structures and violent imagery forces us to question the very nature of decoration. Her liberal use of pattern is quickly subverted to reveal a dark, sinister presence of death and decay. Critic Edward M. Gomez observes: “As Aslan’s ‘pictures’ literally come into focus, formally and thematically, their socially conscious meanings and allusions emerge like mists that wrap inquisitive viewers in their embrace – and keep pulling them back for deeper, ever-more revealing inspections.” Like the chorus in a Greek tragedy, Nora Aslan’s work guides us through these exciting, agitated and contradictory "interesting times."

Nora Aslan has exhibited in numerous galleries and museums across Latin America and Europe including the National Museum of Fine Arts (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes), Buenos Aires, Museum of Modern Art, Vienna, Museum of Modern Art, Sarajevo and has participated in Biennial exhibitions in Havana, Cuba, Porto Alegre, Brasil and Buenos Aires. She lives and works in Buenos Aires.


For additional information and images please contact Maggie Seidel at (212) 675 7490 or maggie@pavelzoubok.com