Lucy Stein
05 May - 24 Jun 2007
LUCY STEIN
DIRTY MAGPIE
Bright yellow capital letters form the words „OH! THE SHAME“, anchoring the painting titled after them. Where painters might sign their name, British artist Lucy Stein introduces language by means of hinting towards her intent in this two-women composition where the complete narrative line is left to the viewer’s appreciation.
In negotiating figuration within an abstract environment, Stein defines boundaries to the interpretative process while allowing room for a free ranging process of thought-association.
In this work dated 2007, two female figures are cought in the dim lights of what one might recognize as late night dark alley, setting the ground for a cryptic relationship whose premises and aftermaths are unclear. Here, Stein conflates the figures with a tangible feeling of guilty shame, as one of the youthful ladies brings her hand to her face in a shocked gaze, while the other inclines her head down while propping her hands forward together, almost in a child-like way. In another work, Stein depicts a boy standing sideways, looking straight at the viewer, in what any would consider an embarrassing moment of intimate arousal.
Stein’s unforgiving yet non judgemental standpoint is omnipresent in the rest of her production. In often tortured, uncensored compositions, she depicts casual scenes of inappropriatedness and sometimes taboo activities.
But where Stein’s position as an observer may be interpreted as incisive and unforgiving, it is the unflattering portrait of her own generation she is depicting. In a series called „drugs“ Steins addresses issues related to addictions and the therapeutic use of the widely used psychotropes and mood-enhancing substances.
DIRTY MAGPIE at BRODWAY 1602 is Lucy Stein’s first solo show in the US.
DIRTY MAGPIE
Bright yellow capital letters form the words „OH! THE SHAME“, anchoring the painting titled after them. Where painters might sign their name, British artist Lucy Stein introduces language by means of hinting towards her intent in this two-women composition where the complete narrative line is left to the viewer’s appreciation.
In negotiating figuration within an abstract environment, Stein defines boundaries to the interpretative process while allowing room for a free ranging process of thought-association.
In this work dated 2007, two female figures are cought in the dim lights of what one might recognize as late night dark alley, setting the ground for a cryptic relationship whose premises and aftermaths are unclear. Here, Stein conflates the figures with a tangible feeling of guilty shame, as one of the youthful ladies brings her hand to her face in a shocked gaze, while the other inclines her head down while propping her hands forward together, almost in a child-like way. In another work, Stein depicts a boy standing sideways, looking straight at the viewer, in what any would consider an embarrassing moment of intimate arousal.
Stein’s unforgiving yet non judgemental standpoint is omnipresent in the rest of her production. In often tortured, uncensored compositions, she depicts casual scenes of inappropriatedness and sometimes taboo activities.
But where Stein’s position as an observer may be interpreted as incisive and unforgiving, it is the unflattering portrait of her own generation she is depicting. In a series called „drugs“ Steins addresses issues related to addictions and the therapeutic use of the widely used psychotropes and mood-enhancing substances.
DIRTY MAGPIE at BRODWAY 1602 is Lucy Stein’s first solo show in the US.