Danni O’Brien: Cross Sections
On view through October 11, 2022
Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art
Reston, Virginia
tephraica.org
“I conceive of the works in a haphazard way, a quick, intuitive gathering and selection of the diagrams and found objects that initiate each piece. Then I spend months carefully contending with what I have laid out in a slow and meditative process, often resulting in a clash with my previous self.” -Danni O’Brien
For this exhibition of new work, Baltimore-based interdisciplinary artist Danni O’Brien (she/they) has built each artwork around a borrowed instructional diagram, carefully stripping away its original function and context. O’Brien uses the act of decontextualization deliberately, creating wall-hung constructions that are rich with connotation. Within the visceral surfaces and quasi-bodily forms, the compositional logic of systems and mechanisms prevail.
[Image: Danni O’Brien, Steady, 2021. Courtesy the artist]
