Corine Borgnet - Shift II: Second Person

April 19, 2007

Corine Borgnet uses fairy tale imagery to explore life-cycle influences. Whereas the previous show saw the violent traumas of early adolescence through the lens of Little Red Riding Hood and Wizard of Oz, the current exhibit looks at the shift to adulthood with reference to Jack in the Beanstalk and Peter Pan. Imagery based on the fairy tale, primarily realized in sculptural form, is used to capture this transition with the background narrative serving to capture a sense of loss, not so much of innocence as of some of the imaginative possibilities of childhood. This and the earlier work exhibited at the Phatory are part of a projected cycle of four works exploring the life cycle, each associated with one of the four traditional elements of earth, air, wind, and fire.

Corine Borgnet works in both France and the United States. She began working in figurative sculpture but after a residency at Altos de Chavon in the Dominican Republic and shifted towards constructing installations that use diverse elements to produce complex, scattered, almost schizophrenic environments. She has had a one-person show at the Columbia University’s Maison Francaise (curated by NURTUREart), the United Nations, Parson School of Design in Paris, France and her work was included in-group exhibitions at Artists’ Space in New York and the ICA in London.