At Nada Miami 2022, we present sculptures by Latvian-born, Zurich-based, Elza Sile and wall-objects by Baltimore-born, Basel-based, Cassidy Toner.
Seven u-shaped sculptures by Sile (currently on view at Centre d’Art Pasquart, Switzerland) are placed in a maze-like composition, which allows for a spatial, proprioceptive experience. Sile works primarily with paint on aluminium sheets, creating a laboratory-like appearance, and depicts layouts of clusters, categories, menus, units, and other sets. In this way, she combines mental imagery with analytic divisions and builds up a uniquely woven vocabulary of psycho-spatial typologies in flux. Sile’s oeuvre consists of human-scale constructions, models from painting materials, fictional dialogs called CASES, including translations into smaller outputs of stickers, tattoos and CG renderings.
The gaze follows complex imageries, shaping unfamiliar networks and depending on the perspective, sculptural elements emerge and disappear. The experienced miniature correlations, such as the localization of the flow of analytical consciousness, reveal a phenomenological apperception. Familiar objects serve as entry points to establish a relative connection in language and perception. Hence, the viewer is invited to investigate a mind-space, revealing uncanny and ordinary elements, and navigates itself into a subjective trip and a training program of reflection.
Similarly, Cassidy Toner’s objects encourage a dialogue. Via a complex network of contradictory signals, the viewer’s curiosity is aroused. At first glance, her practice appears humorous, yet equally bizarre. The seeming playfulness quickly turns out to be sharp-tongued and critical. Nevertheless, Toner is not attempting to act as a moralizing agent and constantly evades every confrontation. As soon as something is illustrated, it escapes the scene and becomes elusive. The dialogue is the experience and transcends the boundary between fiction and reality. Toner questions artistic principles; aesthetic values and academic traditions, as well as existential matters; behavioural patterns anent desire and prejudice.
We will present one to two different objects by Toner, one on each wall. The works will continue her interest in strange, yet familiar and playful objects, with anthropomorphic features. Please note, the booth rendering solely reveals the "No Dice" series, owing to the fact that the other pieces will be specifically created for the fair.
The work titled “No Dice” is reminiscent of minimalist art. Its composition reveals dice fused together and made to appear two-dimensional. The resin and color are the same as those used to produce real dice. The title derives from an English expression, meaning no chance of success and refers to the time, when gambling was prohibited in the U.S. During police raids, in order not to be charged, players eliminated any evidence and thus made the dice disappear (often by swallowing). Toner’s dice unveil all their faces simultaneously and therefore, reveal all possibilities at once.
