FOLDS of Desire

BY MARK ROSS

Among the available experiences in art appreciation , bearing witness to the evolution of an artist is a reaffirmation of our shared dynamic nature. Moving effectively through various notions and mediums, the artist accepts and embraces the challenge of a new form; a new language, unexplored potentialities. “Folds of Desire” , a recent show by Lesley Bodzy at Yvonamor Palix Fine Arts, featured a daring series of poured and shaped acrylic sculptures. The show demonstrates the serendipitous meeting of artistic inspiration with a new medium.

This exhibit displayed how the evolution of the artist can be a shared journey, an appreciation not only of the art works, but of the process by which artists evolve, and the unimpeded artistic impulse.

First being acquainted with Bodzy’s earlier works; Both figurative and abstract watercolors, I was struck by the range of emotions spilling out of these smaller works. The feeling was of delicate sensitivity with a sweet melancholy. The sensory effect was subtle but clearly present. It is from these figurative explorations that the artist finds the requisite seeds of abstraction.

This latest show by Bodzy, while featuring a new medium, exhibits in a much more powerful way, these same effects. Delicate Sensuality is paired with a Golden “precious metal” palate inviting the mind to explore the more nuanced implications of the pairing. While not overtly Feminist at first glance, the flickering of “the eternal-feminine” of Goethe, the slavish conformity of being bathed in Gold. This subtle sneer is opposed by the folds and drapes of raw sexuality. A forever battle between our primordial urges and our sense of humanity.

Sometimes the lyrics follow the music, the art takes form and is defined later. I don’t know the theory behind much of the art I appreciate, and abstraction seems to often demand an explanation. This recent body of work by Lesley Bodzy offers the kind of powerful imagery that defies the requisite explanations and theories. The “theories” are already there, slapping and tickling you.

The objects themselves tell a story as varied as the observers. One is persuaded if not encouraged to explore the art from our own perspective. Which is not to say we are in some way bridled by our lonely observational space, quite the contrary; These works seem to explore the paradox of desire, the power of yearning, and the objectification of what is uniquely feminine. The usurpation of bourgeois morality. While “the eternal feminine” of Faust explores the 19th century German perspective, much of what we experience today reflects these same conventional notions of what constitutes the feminine.

“As the unity of the modern world becomes increasingly a technological rather than a social affair, the techniques of the arts provide the most valuable means of insight into the real direction of our own collective purposes.

Marshall McLuhan

In this age of increasingly complex technological advances, it is left to the artist to unravel the implications of this sensory overload. The minimalist ideals are in some way a Luddite reaction, not of nostalgia, but of a forward-looking responsibility to absorb and translate the currents of technology. Exploring new mediums always creates a new environment from which we can continue these explorations into our

Lesley Bodzy, ...when you didn’t show up , 2021, Acrylic and medium, 77x33 in. Photo courtesy of the artist own nature and face the implications of hyper technological advancement. A reaffirmation of McLuhan’s edict: “The medium is the message”

And so from this modest exhibit in Houston, we bare witness to what is most certainly the central task of the artist: To firmly grasp the implications of new knowledge and escort humanity to a place of integral awareness.