If you can get to the ICA in Boston ASAP, besides seeing the Tara Donovan show, I highly suggest "Momentum 11: Nicholas Hlobo."
Quoting the ICA's website: "Nicholas Hlobo creates works on paper, sculptures, and performances that harness the associative potential of materials, such as pink satin ribbon, rubber inner tubes, leather, lace, and weathered wood. His evocative images and forms play on connotations of gender, ethnicity, and his South African heritage. For Momentum 11, his first solo museum exhibition in the U.S., Hlobo creates a new sculptural installation, large-scale drawings......” Read more.
After thoroughly enjoying my visit to Tara Donovan's show, I also had the pleasure of seeing this show. It was very refreshing. Hlobo's work is very different than other shows I've seen with mixed media or fiber. He has a wonderful sense of playfulness in his work. How often do you see a huge rubber sculpture that's held together with ribbon and zippers?!?
His large-scale "drawings" are huge pieces of paper that are cut and sewn back together with ribbon. These particular pieces reminded me of a silly toy I played as a child, that was made of cardboard with holes in it, and I was supposed to string laces through the holes. Hlobo's work is obviously much more creative and intelligent. The scale of his work is large and very accessible. I loved it.
Unfortunately, this show closes on October 26th.
