Most of us are probably not very interested in humble mops but Melissa Dorn Richards’ take on the subject will change your perspective. Her suite of paintings, sculptures and installations in the exhibition “Mopping Up” at Frank Juarez Gallery elegantly travels between minimalist and expressionistic impulses.
It’s a Cinderella story, really—the shabby, overlooked and utilitarian thing becomes something significant and beautiful. Paring down her color palette to largely black and white, some massive paintings loom like rivers of texture. They suggest forms related to the inspiration of a mop, transformed into patterned variations and abstractions. The gallery arrangement even pays tribute to the show’s origin with a border of dust mop strands arranged along the floor, softening the edges of the gallery space.
Some of the paintings are almost like portraits, with long braids that frame a suggestion of a face. Dorn Richards notes that the concept for this ongoing series stemmed from musing about the word “mop” and the varied connotations it can have. From a proverbial mop of hair to the action of cleaning up, it is metaphorically laden with ideas. In her art, she draws out the many facets of its visual form.
Cutting the fibers of a mop makes them into short pieces, perfect for the process of latch hook and making three-dimensional pieces. Latch hook is something you may remember as a childhood introduction to textile arts, a process to laboriously knot short strands of yarn in order to make pillows or shag rugs. Dorn Richards has created a large tapestry in one case, as well as a sculpture that was inspired by a toaster cover. Both subvert any idea of this process as being a facile endeavor.
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“Mopping Up” honors an industrial thing that is usually regarded as a tool of drudgery, elevating it into something of depth and significance. That is after all, one of the important purposes of art. Dorn Richards will talk about her work during the upcoming Gallery Day at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, sharing her ideas that underlie this quietly intriguing exhibition.
Through Feb. 17 at Frank Juarez Gallery, 207 E. Buffalo St., Suite 600. A reception will also be held from 5-8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3 from 5-8 p.m.
