Mary Laube: Unsettles the Archive at Morgan Lehman Gallery

Ian Etter, Whitehot Magazine, June 19, 2024

Mary Laube’s paintings navigate the complex interplay of perspective and memory, crafting a nuanced dialogue that shifts between the concrete and the abstract, while subtly recontextualizing and questioning archival narratives. In her earlier works, influenced by Ellsworth Kelly’s approach to abstraction, Laube would meticulously study a single object, distilling its visual essence to guide her toward increasingly abstract forms. This process was coupled with perspectival shifts reminiscent of Giotto, resulting in compositions that were both precisely organized and intriguingly disorienting. Shadows often played a significant role in her paintings, depicted in various forms: some appeared to be cast from physical objects, while others were illusory, existing solely within the painted world. By developing this tension, Laube created a sense of distance from what was depicted, prompting viewers to engage with the layers of meaning and memory embedded in her work.

 

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