November 18 - December 16, 2023
The Fool and the Snuffler seamlessly harmonizes the unique sculptural approaches of Ryan Flores and Hallie McNeill by highlighting the connections woven into their respective work. Engaged in a dynamic artistic dialogue, each artist invites the viewer to explore the nuanced expressions conveyed within their constructed environment. By offering queries around moral frailty and the frivolity of material culture, Flores and McNeill encourage moments of contemplation through the implementation of symbolism and metaphor. Flores’ still-life ceramic paintings are suspended in a grotesque lust, while McNeill’s ceramic sculpture is a faceless, nameless figure that holds a mirror to oneself as a method of conveying fractured desires. Through their innovative explorations of ceramic materials, Flores and McNeill initiate a compelling exchange of ideas coded in meaning and delve into the complexities of the human experience, and the transient, ephemeral nature of life.
Within her practice, McNeill explores how the psychological spaces of desire and aspiration tangle and shape our relationships with ourselves and others. Through arrangements made from sculpture, sound, video, and text she sheds light on the polarizing effects of individual self-interest by offering an introspective reflection on the complexities of human identity and purpose.
In contrast, Flores pays tribute to the classical tradition of still-life paintings, drawing inspiration from the Spanish and Dutch Golden Age still-life traditions. His reference to vanitas and the use of ceramic fruit serve as metaphors for waste, decay, beauty, and life. Infused with the subtle undertones of sexual expression found within Dutch still-life paintings, Flores’ ceramic paintings bridge historical motifs within contemporary lives. In his current sculptural explorations, he integrates living forms such as butterflies, flies, lizards, and snakes to further enhance the sexually rich interactions of the fruit.