It is common to assert that form and content are inseparably intertwined, but with this work, the artist launches them into dialogue by presenting a fragment of language, a phrase without a verb. Without other context we cannot know whether abstraction is the opposite of the real, the opposite of representation, or the opposite of “here;” and, what is “convenient” about it.

Language is by definition an abstract system, so its material form becomes singularly important; like a head with an open mouth, the Proxy Gallery pours forth a cascade of letterforms and words repeated and entangled with each other, that in their resistance to being read, call attention to their presentation in a way that is in dialogue with graphic design and communication design.

This particular piece of language has concrete form: size, color, texture, transparency, volume, and the font is ‘Not Caslon.’ The medium is translucent milky vellum, a substance that often indicates intermediate iterations and preparations before a final design. There is no ink anywhere, nor is there voice or sound. The phrase itself was mechanically produced by laser cutting.

Repetition, seriality, mechanical reproduction are favored processes of graphic art. Here Mondor proposes a gallery that speaks, but in a language that is not just a thought or an idea, but a sculptural thing, almost precluding us from simply reading it.

For more information visit Proxy Gallery online here.

For past Proxy Gallery shows at Beyond Baroque click here.