MARFA — RULE Gallery is presenting a two-person exhibition, The Edge of Memory, featuring work by Azadeh Gholizadeh and Leslie Wilkes on Saturday, June 22, with a public reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m and will be on view through August 10, 2024. RULE is located at 204 E. San Antonio St.
The Edge of Memory examines the rich interplay between memory, identity and perception through distinct yet harmoniously resonant practices. Both artists delve into the transformative power of geometric abstraction and traditional techniques to evoke a deep sense of nostalgia and emotional reflection, creating a dialogue that spans cultural and personal landscapes.
Azadeh Gholizadeh’s practice navigates the intricate relationship between landscape and memory, examining how absence, distance and longing shape our experiences. Utilizing traditional fiber art techniques, Gholizadeh crafts needlepoint tapestries and sculptural installations that draw upon the aesthetics of Persian manuscripts and modernist grids. Her work transforms photographs of landscapes into pixelated tapestries, stripping away extraneous details to distill the essence of memory and emotion. Through this meticulous process, she reflects on the fragility and inconsistency of the concept of home, imbuing her work with layers of personal and collective memory. Her art serves as a conduit for exploring marginalized and queered perspectives within ever-shifting landscapes, evoking a sense of comfort and refuge through natural elements.
Leslie Wilkes, an abstract artist, similarly engages with geometric motifs and memory, though her focus lies in the realm of pattern-based painting. Drawing inspiration from nostalgic items such as aprons, tablecloths and curtains, Wilkes creates compositions that elicit a sense of the familiar while keeping precise memories just out of reach. Her work in gouache and oil paintings employs repetitive outlines and variations in form, with color arrangements that are determined spontaneously. This approach results in images that remain unresolved until the final shape and color are applied, maintaining an element of surprise and discovery. Wilkes’ recent shift to softer tones, along with a more painterly approach, evokes an ethereal response from viewers encouraging them to sort the visual clues into patterns even when none exist.
Together, Gholizadeh and Wilkes offer a multifaceted exploration of how geometric abstraction and traditional techniques can serve as vessels for memory and emotion. Gholizadeh’s pixelated tapestries and sculptural installations resonate with Wilkes’ pattern-based paintings, creating a visual and conceptual harmony that speaks to the universality of human experience. This exhibition highlights the individual strengths of each artist while underscoring the parallels in their practices, offering viewers a rich experience that bridges past and present, the personal and the collective.