Jason Foumberg

Brooklyn-based Luke Stettner comes out on top of this three-person exhibition at duchess gallery. Through four discrete works, Stettner charts a conceptually cohesive narrative of the inaccessibility of communication and the ghost chance of hope's renewal. A word in Braille is hidden behind glass, never to be decoded by the fingers. Likewise, a recorded word is looped on a cassette player in a soundproof box in "The Final Word." The accompanying frustration is either unbearable or pertinent depending upon the viewer's own frame of mind. California-based Christine Frerichs deals with similar subject matter as she repetitively externalizes the memorized image of her deceased mother's face. Taking eight years to complete this series of portraits, Frerichs' project is a touching memorial. Finally, Berlin-based Ryan McLaughlin's ink drawings appear to be a nod to Marcel Duchamp's infamous Malic Molds and desire machines, yet they succeed better at being simply a solid collection of formal considerations. The lack of a unifying conceptual premise from curator Spencer Finch is a debt only in reference to the show's title, "Like, Resembling, Similar." Otherwise, this is an opportunity to view some stimulating work by three emerging artists.

"Like, Resembling, Similar" shows at duchess, 1045 West Grand, (312)933-5317, through February 28. (2007-01-30)

Also by Jason Foumberg

Portrait of the Artist
Deb Sokolow, a 32-year-old artist from California who lives and works in Chicago, combines text and image in storyboards that unfold left to right through space
(2006-12-19)

Tip of the Week
The only thing special about the content of Kim Dorland's paintings--teenagers hanging out in derelict places--is that it acts as the impetus for the transfiguration of gooey paint
(2006-12-19)

Portrait of an Artist
57-year-old Canadian artist Rodney Graham searches for self-knowledge using perception-extending technologies
(2006-12-12)

Tip of the Week
"Material Difference" focuses on fiber works from the 1960s to present day, marking the practice's shift from domesticated and decorative to highly conceptual
(2006-11-07)

Tip of the Week
(2006-10-10)

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