Couple II (This is Goodbye), 1983
six drawings, charcoal on paper
61 x 69 inches overall
Collection: The Australian National Gallery, Canberra
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Red Drawings, 1984
seven drawings, oil on paper
111 x 48 inches overall
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 1984
IDA APPLEBROOG
PAINTINGS
OCTOBER 13 TO NOVEMBER 24
'INMATES & OTHERS"
Applebroog's new work deals with inmates and, metaphorically, with the concept that we are all inmates. Using her minimalist figures, she establishes the pervasiveness of this theme in dealing with the underlying similarities between the inmates of 'total institutions" (hospitals, homes for the aged) and the rest of us, who are inmates of relationships, social structures and the work place. In doing so, she destroys the boundaries between the usual media stereotypes – laughing children, macho men, contented housewives – and the world of the lonely, the old, the poor. Simultaneously, there is an edge of humor in her work – sometimes sharp and biting, but frequently subversive in its deadpan approach. Her paintings present people engaged in private, every-day actions, with successive layerings of vaguely related and seemingly familiar images. Through their deceptive simplicity, her characters emerge as symbolic icons of our world.
The work presented in this show consists of small, serialstrip paintings, two sets of large two-panel pieces and drawings. Some of these pieces are strongly political (Thank You Mr. President); while others comment upon some social convention (a vision of purity "on the pill"); many also carry with them Applebroog's distinct brand of enigmatic off-beat humor (the sighting of a tipped uterus). Many of the works have images of children as the major personae in large panels, with secondary figures acting as remarks upon the central one. This show also includes several of Applebroog's new drawings on paper. These works deliberately focus upon the banal and the minutiae of relationships. They serve to underscore the interrelatedness and amibuity of "inmates and outmates".
This is Applebroog's third one-person show at Ronald Feldman Fine Arts. The public is invited to the opening on Saturday, October 13th. A reception for the artist will be held from 5 to 7 PM on that evening. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 AM to 6 PM, Mondays by appointment only. Admission is free.
For further information concerning this exhibition, contact Lynn Cassaniti; for publicity photographs, contact Barbara Goldner at (212)226-3232.
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