FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

LnS GALLERY presents
FORM/FUNCTION/POWER
by Jessie Laino
September 7 – November 2, 2019
PREVIEW RECEPTION | Saturday September 7, 2019 | 6:00-9:00pm

MIAMI, FL (September 2019) LnS GALLERY commences its third Season of the Arts with FORM/FUNCTION/POWER, featuring the work of Jessie Laino, a Miami native offering a salient perspective that weaves the purposefulness of construction with the precision of honed artistic technique. In her deconstruction and reconstruction of quotidian objects, Laino infuses form with allegory, creating an intensified relationship for the receptive viewer. Arts writer George Fishman, whose essay accompanies the exhibition, observes: “Whether wrapping unruly bundles of hay in plastic, stripping abandoned Christmas trees or polishing a junked muffler, Jessie Laino re-animates the discarded artifacts of her world. In Laino’s words, ‘I construct ambiguous environments or autonomous objects that provoke conversation with the viewer an inch outside of their normal memory patterns.’”

Laino’s alchemic style draws on family influences; she acquired building and faux finishing skills from her parents at a young age, which led to formal studies of advanced art ideas. Exploring influence and intuition, “Laino learned to create, transforming a nondescript surface into one of prestige and value.”

Of Laino’s alchemic process, Fishman writes: “Whether mufflers, ropes, tires, even plastic bags, very few things appear repellent to Laino. They provoke questions. Who discarded this beautiful crimson comforter and why? What late-night conversations did it witness? She develops intimate relationships with the objects she ‘adopts.’ By implication, she invites us all to invest more deeply in chance encounters… Captivated by the powerful technology of marble quarrying, she fabricated her own massive block, again using lightweight rigid foam. She disguised its surfaces with veining and distinctive tool marks and moved From Now On into the gallery, where visitors ponder: Did she just find this formidable marble block or purchase it? Then they discover, no, it’s carved from foam.

“Growing up in Miami and attending New World School of the Arts, Laino observed downtown in all its grit and glamour. And with a student budget, ‘We had to make something out of nothing,’ she recalled. Gradually recycling or ‘scrapping’ became a moral choice.” With a commitment to environmental stewardship, LnS Gallery celebrates the artist’s espousal of sustainability.

“Laino takes recycling to a new level in Sediment_01, casting a large concrete slab and then hammering it apart to create a mass of rocks – in varying tones. Distributing them on the gallery floor, she drapes them with a sheer blue fabric to mysteriously conjure a rushing river.

The restrained staging of the exhibition establishes a meditative tone. Gallerist Sergio Cernuda remarks, ‘Our vision is to curate a clean, rather minimalist presentation. We want every piece to breathe and captivate the viewer.’”

PREVIEW RECEPTION
Saturday, September 7, 2019
6:00–9:00pm

EXHIBITION ON VIEW
September 7 – November 2, 2019