![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.artloversnewyork.com\/zine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/OLIVIA-SWIDER-Mountain-Gallery.gif\")
<\/a>\nthe show’s postcard
\nImage: Olivia Swider, 2018<\/p>\n
while both artist’s works are ‘wanting’ to express desire, need, & need-to-understand (!!), self-identity and, ultimately, longing . . . their approach could not be more different. Dalia is about the ‘narrative’ of longing, and is on an . . inner search. contemplation. observation. thought. process. all done with a well-tempered ‘coolness’, even distance. Olivia on the other hand, is all about screaming out, tearing to shreds, and intense, hands-on expressionism. <\/p>\n Dalia’s work centers around her ‘self’ \/ through many self-portraits, as well as the formal distance of recording .. of herself, & inanimate objects \/ in very patient, realistic ways & settings. I liked how it referenced the ‘texture’ in the title. plush carpet, silvery, thin metallic snaking chain, more solid miniature souvenir trophy, & the abrupt, plastic pink, of the shiny, retro vinyl rosary ‘envelope’. <\/p>\n Michael Flemming runs his gallery space in his Bushwick, ground floor apartment living room. so it’s quite deliberate, both casual and intense \/ aspiring, and intimate. though this might be the last show for Mountain, in this space – word is . . Mountain and Selena are combining forces, and looking for a bigger . . living room !!<\/p>\n those are DALIA AMARA’s works on the wall. Olivia, meanwhile is never . . in the box !!<\/p>\n quite the contrast. <\/p>\n it’s like one is a ‘science’, (Dalia), and the other is a ‘science experiment’ (Olivia). <\/p>\n DALIA AMARA, ‘Posing’, 2017. the title says it all \/ looking into the mirror. hello: YIN, yang !!<\/a>
\nOLIVIA SWIDER, Mountain Gallery . . Sat, March 3, 2018
\nMs. Swider also co-founded, & now solely runs SELENA<\/a>, also a Living Room \/ apt gallery . . . in Bushwick, Brooklyn. <\/p>\n<\/a>
\nleft: DALIA AMARA, ‘Touching a Cactus’, 2014.
\nArchival pigment print. 14 x 21.5 in.
\nright: OLIVIA SWIDER, ‘Muy Picante’, 2018
\nLace, felt, rosary, wire, spray. 5.5 x 17 in.<\/p>\n
\nOlivia’s work is self-portraiture . . through created, and often explosive ‘fictional’ narratives. both artists express . . ‘I want’ \/ not only as ‘desire’, or a ‘longing’ for self-knowledge, but also, as a verb<\/strong> . . as in a ‘demand’. an ambition, as in: I want . . ‘to be heard’, ‘to be understood’, ‘to be felt’ !! <\/p>\n<\/a>
\nOLIVIA SWIDER, ‘Muy Picante’, 2018
\nlace, felt, rosary, wire spray. 5.5 x 17 in.
\ntalk about . . ‘I Want’.
\nas in ‘I demand’ !! to be heard, and understood \/ my fave piece in the show.
\nit looked more like a snake’s giant ‘fang’, than an embroidery sentiment. more of a demand, than a . . ‘wish’. it also spoke to Olivia’s cultural mash-up of a DNA background \/ Polish (the stern cross), and Mexican (the vibrant red lace, the seashell chain) \/ composed on a very contemporary, ‘shaped’ ‘platform’, 3D.
\nit was like an arrow, though being in the rough shape of a hot pepper, probably a better metaphor might be – a kind of ‘stake’ . . to the heart of the matter of things.
\n‘things’ . . being ‘things – in motion. creative, & emotional momentum !!
\nnothing is standing still, here.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\ndetail, ‘Muy Picante’.
\nOlivia told me the rosary had been her grandmother’s.
\nI liked how it referenced the ‘texture’ in the title. plush carpet, silvery, thin metallic snaking chain, more solid souvenir trophy, & the abrupt, plastic pink, of the shiny, retro, vinyl rosary ‘envelope’.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nOLIVIA SWIDER, ‘My Rosary’, 2018. another fave.
\nRosary, vinyl, plastic, spray on rug. 11 x 17 in.
\nthis one was more subdued, more sentimental. more story-telling.
\nmore . . I was a young femme teenager once, filled with . . longing \/ the very definition of: want.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nit had a longing, and a delicacy – that could not be denied.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\ntwo gallerist\/curator\/artists: OLIVIA SWIDER and MICHAEL FLEMING.
\nthrowing some luck-of-the-Irish, in . . with the big drama of the Polish and Mexican !! <\/p>\n
\nyes. real people live here. art ultimately belongs in homes.<\/p>\n
\ntop: ‘Rose with hair extension’, 2017.
\narchival pigment print. 14 x 2.5 in.
\nlower: ‘Simulation’, 2017.
\nFull HD Video.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nDALIA AMARA, ‘Simulation’, 2017.
\nvideo focused on her ‘self’ . . in physical space \/ and, stance.
\nthere’s a sense of curiosity, and poise.
\nrunning in a ‘window box format’, these ‘projections’ . . were inward-focused.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\ncase in point:
\nOLIVIA SWIDER, ‘Party Frog’, 2018.
\nceramic, el yucateco hot sauce, ceramic plate. 5 in. tall.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nor: the full range of: want !!<\/p>\n
\nFull HD Video.<\/p>\n
\nrealism & questioning. finding, and . . wanting to understand, more ?<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nDALIA AMARA, ‘Posing’, black & white.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nDALIA AMARA, ‘Posing’ . . black leotard, glass, and mirrors. steel.
\n& meaning – their textures, not just their colors. but, their surfaces. almost non-textures. hard, pristine, definitely narrative, realist shiny, reflective surfaces.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nOLIVIA SWIDER, ‘Hello Liar’, 2017.
\nBleach, tajin, sand, acrylic on hand towel. 16 x 26 in.<\/p>\n
\nDalia and Olivia.
\npolar opposites of expression, steel vs thick textile.
\nin both concept & literal texture \/ precise observation vs sandy, screaming !!
\ngrace . . vs ripping to shreds, lol.
\ndifferences of texture – make the world go round.
\nyet, it’s still: always . . endless wanting, between the both of them.<\/p>\n