12 March - 23 April

TIMOTHY HORN
Difficult to Swallow

Hosfelt Gallery is pleased to present the first solo exhibition in the US of
Australian Timothy Horn’s work. His antique jewelry-inspired sculptures
are unabashedly about desire. In the 18th century, when a jewel dangled
from an earlobe at court, it was a seductive ornament. But Horn’s sculp-
tures, enlarged twenty-fold and hanging on the wall, approach vulgarity.
In spite of our aspirations to "good taste," we find ourselves attracted to
them.

Gay and feminist subtexts permeate the work. The titles have sexual
overtones and puns that invite multiple readings. Jewels represent the
display of wealth and social status. Yet despite its public function, jewelry
is intimate and erotic. It is, after all, worn on and designed to draw atten-
tion to the body of a woman.

Made of nickel-plated cast bronze and lead crystal, the chandelier-scaled
baubles walk a fine line between status symbol of the socially prominent
and kitsch trinket of the tasteless and shameless.

JOHN O'REILLY
Still Life
John O’Reilly’s new photo montages are little Wonderland worlds unto
themselves. Their extreme horizontal format creates the sense of a
journey, from the familiar and safe to the chaotic and mysterious. Many
images come from O’Reilly’s home and neighborhood. These are inter-
mingled with children’s building blocks that transition into Greek ruins,
and then out into wild woods. Musical references and the passage of
time are persistent themes.

O’Reilly constructs each unique piece out of fragments of black and
white Polaroid photographs he takes of his surroundings, of tableaus he
creates in his studio, and of pictures from books and magazines. While
the title “Still Life” seems to contradict the sense of movement and
progression in the work, these are metaphorical “snapshots” of a life
lived, and meditations on its final resting point.
XXXXX

Image of Spunk
Spunk (Boy Germs), 2002
 
image of Still Life with White Horse
Still Life with a White Horse, 2004