CV116 - Vikky Alexander, Nordic Rock — James D. Campbell
Ciel variable 116 - Landscapes as Mirrors (Winter 2021)
Exhibitions (Single Article, Digital Version)
Vikky Alexander
Nordic Rock
Darling Foundry, Montreal
February 27–August 29, 2020
By James D. Campbell
“A rare extravaganza of the literal and the metaphorical, the real and the surreal” is how James D. Campbell opens his review of the exhibition Nordic Rock. The group of works – including furniture that is recognizable (chairs, beds, tables) but not usable – works seamlessly with the massive, yet “subversive” space of the Darling Foundry’s main gallery. Central to the visitor’s experience of this brilliantly successful show, according to Campbell, is the notion of transparency, thanks to Vikky Alexander’s preferred material, dichroic glass, which reflects a wide spectrum of colours. For Campbell, these “utopian signifiers” (the furniture) makes us dream as no upscale furniture store will ever be able to make us to – and, in doing so, thus critiques consumerism. “Nordic Rock presents a condo inside a castle in the air, defying gravity and lifting spirits,” Campbell concludes. This was the last essay that James D. Campbell wrote for Ciel Variable; it was published posthumously.
Details
Language: English
Digital Version: PDF, 604 Kb
Bibliographical Reference
James D. Campbell, « Vikky Alexander, Nordic Rock », Ciel variable, no 116, Montréal, 2021, p. 84.