Flash Art
October 2005
Chicago Cultural Center

Petah Coyne
by Claire Wolf Krantz

Nine large sculptures and six photographs comprise Petah Coyne's mid-career survey. Installed
in the huge, baroque Yates Gallery at the Chicago Cultural Center, her heavy sculptures hanging
from the ceiling or resting on the floor are made of industrial materials such as wax, chicken
wire and metal, or the residue of life, such as hair and preserved dead birds. They are
imaginative yet ambivalent investigations into her personal world, incorporating her Catholic
upbringing, feminism and her preoccupation with issues associated with life and death. The
exuberance of these works and their dense juxtaposition of dissimilar parts relate
sympathetically to the cavernous space that splendidly shows them off.

Two pieces exemplify both ambiguity and duality. Untitled #1103 (Daphne) is a tree-like
structure covered primarily with wax - the bottom resembles a trunk and the top has branches
surrounding a face. Referring to the Greek myth of a nymph transformed into a laurel tree
rather than succumbing to Apollo's advances, the piece is covered with black and dark red
painted silk flowers and other materials, surrounded on the floor by blossoms. While its mass
and darkness immediately call to mind death and mourning, its utter beauty also suggests life.
Nearby stands Untitled #1093 (Buddha Boy), Its shroud-like shape resembling a Catholic votive figure is actually a Buddha, also revered and valued for devotion. Covered with dripping wax and sprouting half-burned candles, it is densely covered with jewelry, flowers and bows. Embedded within this extravagant figure, the Buddha's face could also be interpreted as a saint, or even as a bride.

Intensely spiritual, these strange and intriguing works suggest the beauty of nature in both life
and death.

Claire Wolf Krantz is an artist, freelance critic, and guest curator.
As an artist she works in a combination of painting and photography as well as digitally created images.