OHT Gallery Boston

Previous Exhibits

Twisted: Another Look at Everyday Life

Ryan Steadman, Sandra Stark, Gary Roma, Chris Mateer, Nava Lubelski

February 6 - 28, 2004
Reception: Friday, February 6, 5:30 - 7:30 pm

O·H+T gallery is pleased to present Twisted, an exhibition of works by Ryan Steadman, Sandra Stark, Chris Mateer, Nava Lubelski, and Gary Roma. Sharing an interest in the objects and rituals of everyday life, these artists look beyond commonness to the stranger aspects of the mundane.

Ryan Steadman says "I am a conflicted person, so I'm interested in conflicted people or things." Steadman isolates the small human dramas of everyday life and presents them against cool, abstract backdrops. Much like the tragi-comic miming of Charlie Chaplin, Steadman's work depicts the bittersweet humor in the trials and tribulations of others.

Sandra Stark's TV Sitcom Houses document her continuing interest in fictional, constructed spaces and architecture. Whether actual houses or studio sets (shells), these structures, chosen for their depiction of an economic class or urban/suburban setting, take on a life of their own. Some live beyond the original TV show to appear in future productions. The Partridge Family house was firebombed for Lethal Weapon.

Chris Mateer's interest in the architecture and artifacts of shopping centers, fast food restaurants, and gas stations stems from his enthusiasm for road travel. Mateer's monochromatic woodblock prints of roadside landscapes reduce the road signs, trash cans, and strip malls to anonymous forms floating in foggy space.

Nava Lubelski's stitched stain paintings combine fluid shapes with controlled, compulsive needlework. Reminiscent of coffee, ketchup, and mustard spills, Lubelski's work plays the shameful problem of the stain against the careful mending of the stitching. "My process of redeeming these stains... is about understanding why we dismiss, label or embrace certain ideas, forms or media."

Gary Roma's documentary film, Floss! A Meditation on the Possibilities of Change, explores the gap between intention and action. Roma's numerous interviews about floss and flossing give new insight into how a variety of people view this daily task. Using the "floss problem" as a metaphor, Roma promotes the use of imagination as a means of overcoming cynicism.