DANIELLE EPSTEIN

Opening Reception: Wednesday, January 16, 5:30-8:30

Danielle Epstein’s latest collection of photographs will seduce you. Using repetition and scale, Epstein’s clear, crisp photos of ordinary objects form intriguing patterns that naturally activate your curatorial and artistic sensibilities.

Her matte photographs measuring 16in x 2ft and 16in x 6ft, picture stones, wood and other natural and domestic detail. Their geometric layout suggests a pictorial language. It’s easy to regard each photo as a single gesture, yet when joined with others, they become part of a visual phrase.

For example, place the photograph Fur Pillow along side Marble with Straw Rug to create an abstract landscape. Or, create a series based on visual structures by placing Joists, a horizontal strip of wooden ceiling beams, between the two vertical photos Bolts and Wine Cask.

At once pure design and simple accident, Epstein has an eye for objects with richly hued surfaces, textures, dimensions, and marks–both organic and made-made. The photos encourage the creation of series in sets of twos and threes; yet each piece can also stand alone, “a study of minutiae” as Epstein calls it.

Scale is another unique aspect of Epstein’s work. With some pictures standing six feet tall, the photo itself becomes an object of art. Place the six footers together and you have a row of contemporary totems: Wine Casks, Bulkhead Logs, Pots, Bolts, Nuts and Leaves, with each photo offering new associations. By transforming ordinary things into flexible puzzle pieces, Epstein’s work allows you to mix and match the stuff of life. Place Keyhole next to Trunk and you have a mystery. Seen together, neat Armoire and peeling Green Cabinet reflect on time, and so on.

Epstein’s discriminating eye has transformed you from a viewer into an inner-actor. You don’t just see, you experience the work and leave its presence with a reawakened desire to find the beauty that hides all around us. This is Danielle Epstein’s 6th solo show at Robin Rice. A native New Yorker, she studied painting at Duke University and received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts.