Installation view of _Seasons of Unravelling_ at Monte Vista Projects, “Spinning Top”, “Spring Breath of Wind”, and “Shield”.
Artist Calliope Pavlides currently holds her first solo show, _Seasons of Unravelling_, at Monte Vista Projects, running through May 8th. The exhibition featured Pavlides' latest body of work that conveys a narrative of personal apocalypse in relation to the global pandemic. Despite dark undertones, Pavildes provides a lens of childlike curiosity, inviting us into a whirlwind of whimsy.
Upon entering the space, the first piece to come into view is _Babyproofing_. The compelling painting displayed muted tones of beige and blue while curved, spiraling lines depict a seemingly maternal figure with arms encompassing a child. The rest of the composition swirls around them in a symphony of seemingly composed chaos; setting the notion of finding comfort despite disorder—a common theme throughout all works.
Artist Calliope Pavlides with work.
Calliope Pavlides. “First Eruption” (2020). Oil on canvas. 13”x17”.
Turning the corner into the next room, drawings were displayed under glass on a low table, while paintings hung on the walls throughout the space. At first glance, the works seem tranquil with their flow of looping lines, rounded shapes, and buoyant colors. However, the abstracted forms allude to a much more violent narrative, carrying viewers through an intriguing display of visuals, each nodding to their own allegory of havoc. Some works such as _Spring Breath of Wind_ take on a sculptural form. The oil painting is shaped like a kite, ribbons on its ends, a feminine face peering out from beneath a spiral of bows on its surface. A gypsum and fiberglass sculpted ribcage hangs below, alluding to a weighted sense of humanity and mortality in contrast to the levity of the kite hovering above. Pavlides gently guides us through her personal inner world of chaos, depicting rupturing volcanoes, vacant tortoise shells, and haunting shadows yet through shape, subject, and color, allows for light to permeate duress. Pavlides introduces her show with the poetic notion:
_“The ashes are unprecedented,_
_the blossoms always punctual._
_Seasons of Unravelling, spinning, turning—the elements spit me out._
_Enter May, and we hopscotch into spring._
_The disaster’s inopportune but the child forever at play.”_
Installation view of _Seasons of Unravelling_ at Monte Vista Projects, “Hypnosis”, “Twin Tornados”, “In Vein”.
However convoluted and twisted this past season has been, Pavlides’ vulnerable display of internal fragmentation allows for reflection on our own _Seasons of Unravelling_. Through this lens we are granted a sense of comfort in solidarity and hope that the demolition always makes room for rebirth.
_Seasons of Unravelling_ will be open by appointment from May 1st to May 8th, 2021.
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