Clare Rojas @ Deitch Projects
November 12–December 18, 2004
Table Turner was Clare Rojas’s first solo exhibition in New York. This multi-media installation included a walk-in painting and sculpture installation, collage, video animation as well as a performance by the artist’s alter ego, Peggy Honeywell, on the opening night of the exhibition.
In this new body of work, Rojas responded to the portrayal of women in the media, art, and fashion worlds. While the artist’s work has always been partly autobiographical and has had a feminine perspective, this work more directly challenged the way we have come to accept unrealistic ideals of beauty and femininity. Rojas spoofed the objectification of women by presenting drawings of men in the same poses and scenarios as those in which women were commonly seen. By reversing the roles, we see the humor and insanity of what we expect women to do in order to be successful. Additionally, Rojas turned the tables on artistic convention by depicting images of the rarely seen nude male. She brought our attention to and makes us question why the male nude is so unusual while the female nude is status quo.
In the storefront gallery, Rojas presented over 100 quilted collages and works on panel. In these works, women, men, nature, and animals are strong and weak, caring and connected to one another in their struggle to find harmony and balance. She celebrates women for their traditional and most basic differences and strengths. While the characters are often imbued with feelings of loss and nostalgia, one gets the sense that they will not back down. They will ultimately beat their predators at their own game.
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