Portland Modern presents 'Prop' an Installation by Jenene Nagy

Monday, 09 October 2006 00:18

Portland, OR - Portland Modern is proud to present Prop, a site-specific installation by Jenene Nagy.  On exhibition until 28 October, 2006.

From Japanese Gardens to pre-fab subdivision neighborhoods, the need to invent a perfect place is embedded in our collective psyche.  The structures in my work borrow from the language of architects' models and stage props.  I am interested in blurring the boundaries between the constructed environment and the natural.  While there is a sweetness in these invented worlds suggested by the luscious, candied frosting aesthetic, the desire for them is tempered by the exposure of their materiality.  Vinyl, foam, shelf paper, house paint remind us of an order and practicality inherent in our experience of place (home), yet the exploitation of these materials invent a land that is otherworldly.

Prop is an exposure of this constructed landscape.  Set in a street-level store front window, we are equally tempted by its close proximity and its unattainability.

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