Renee Van Halm

Pieces of domestic furniture, usually modernist, are copied and reconsidered in these works and their function altered to provide frameworks for smaller discreet objects or paintings. This group of works includes Architect’s Cabinet, Privacy Screen, Nightgown, Implication and Two Vanities.

The works Architect’s Cabinet, Privacy Screen and Nightgown, all in some way refer to the infamous conflict between the architect Mies van der Rohe and his client Edith Farnsworth in the design and construction of her house. Her need for privacy was undermined by the transparency of this modernist project - inevitable conflicts arose from this need and the architect’s unwillingness to compromise his design. Images of the iconic Farnsworth house are framed in representations of equally iconic pieces of modernist furniture, all but one designed by women.

Implication / Speculation

< Implication is constructed around the word "anger". The word is presented in cursive script typeand through reversing and overlaying, is illegible and suggests a decorative monogram. This word is painted on glass and located within the structure, identical on both sides. The structure enshrines, isolates and objectifies anger; an emotion associated with domestic dramas.

In Speculation, five round monochrome paintings depict close-ups of hair taken from fashion magazines; each surface is interrupted by a glass mirror insert. As images they are simultaneously abstract (unrecognizable) and figurative (realistic). The mirrors at varied heights directly implicate the viewer in the familiar act of self-examination.