Artists: Marianne Gagnier, Linnea Paskow, and Melissa Staiger
October 8th — October 31st, 2020
Curated by: Linnea Paskow and Gina Mischianti
Equity Gallery presents Farrago, a three person exhibition featuring the collages of Linnea Paskow, Marianne Gagnier, and Melissa Staiger. The visual language of collage uniquely thrives on incongruity and the unexpected. Objects, forms, and materials which seem completely dissonant are gathered together and urged to interact, contrast, and blend on the same plane. Rather than transforming and assimilating all the components within the artwork, collage creates new, complex conversations between heterogeneous parts, emphasizing the gossamer thin line between chaos and harmony. Each part of the assemblage is allowed to retain aspects of its former context and to function as its own character, unrestricted. Individual elements are embraced and given the spotlight, even within the context of its newly imposed surroundings. The viewer is made to behold the artworks simultaneously as both a mass of collected material and a whole, creating an rich, robust, and at times overwhelming aesthetic experience.
Paskow, Gagnier, and Staiger challenge the viewer to see artwork as both a compilation of disparate components and a unified entity all at once. Collage, at its best, defies easy categorization, intentionally refusing to completely divorce its pieces from their original context while still presenting a cohesive work.
50” x 38”
Collage
2020
