artist / vivian liddell
July 22, 2017
"In the Hall of the Mountain King," is a solo exhibition of sculptures, monotypes, and mixed-media paintings by Vivian Liddell. Liddell uses Edvard Grieg's musical composition from the Henrik Ibsen play Peer Gynt as a starting structure. Liddell explores her family dynamics and connections to Danish folklore, as they relate to patriarchy, power, religion, and the American South. The show includes an audio accompaniment. The paintings and monotypes start with staining. This formal process folds in narrative through the use of seemingly haphazardly embroidered fabric collage and the addition of materials typically associated with "bad" crafts, such as googly eyes, hook rugs, and macramé. Some of the paintings sprout 3-D elements made of soft sculpture, or they sit on the floor rather than hanging on the wall, playfully straddling the line between painting and sculpture. Visitors to the show first encounter a soft-sculpture troll, whose silhouette is embroidered on the painting it stands before--immediately confronting viewers' relationship to painting by humorous proxy, and inviting viewers to drop their art-related anxiety on the way in. Through narrative and through use of overtly feminist materials, Liddell's work is both accessible and combative.
REVIEW in ArtsATL by Jerry Cullum // Review: Vivian Liddell takes a deep, irreverent and complicated trip to “The Mountain King”