Dan's Papers - August 24, 2007 - art commentary With Marion Wolberg Weiss

While Steve Soreff's work is not currently in a commercial gallery, his East Hampton home is a virtual substitute: walls, tabletops, floors and bathrooms overflow with his work. And all of it are fine examples of conceptual art. One may even suggest that Mr. Soreff's residence / art works are, in fact, an installation.

More salient, perhaps, is what determines conceptual art in the case of this particular artist. First, there's the idea of combining incongruent images / objects, a surrealistic trait that we pointed out in last week's Art Commentary.

Mr. Soreff's found objects, which he collects at will and often saves for years, is an interesting subject in itself; his sources include an African trinket shop, a Chinese department store, a Ninth Avenue hardware venue and even the local dump.

Consider the following incongruencies: religious icons (Russian dolls) held with wooden clamps; a string of pearls wrapped around a rubber snake; a toy trumpet embedded in artificial lillies and leaves.

So what's it all about?

Incongruencies are a prime element in conceptual art, often the vehicle for conveying a theme or message. We could even explain such contradictions in terms of the following well-known political/philosophical principle: thesis plus antithesis equals synthesis. Commenting on this idea, Mr. Soreff suggested that his works may even evoke multiple meanings inherent in the synthesis (the combination of different / opposing parts to make a separate concept).

The Russian icons serve as a good example of Mr. Soreff's artistic goals. Obviously, the clamps function to restrict the figures, inferring that religion is "tied down" or hampered. Another piece conveys the same idea: a handcuffed series of hands attached to a cross- like configuration made of whips.

Mr. Soreff's themes also include anti-war statements: a small man chained to a toy tank; a stethoscope attached to a gas mask (conveying the idea of war as a disease).

Since there are consistencies in Mr. Soreff's work, like the use of violent instruments (handcuffs, whips, gas mask), we may also relate his meanings to sado-masochism, although this is not what he has in mind.

What Mr. Soreff may have in mind is often spontaneous and unconscious. Perfect for capturing the spirit of conceptual art.