Art Commentary by Marion Wolberg Weiss

Two Worlds: Mardoyan, East End Collections at Guild

There's something so familiar and comforting about "East End Collections" at Guild Hall that we feel immediately "at home" - at least at home with our favorite grandmother. This critic would swear that the amber glass with a daisy pattern sat in her grandmother's kitchen some 50 years ago. Likewise, one quilt with a patchwork grid lay on her grandmother's bed where she slept without a care in the world.

The world is different now, of course, full of unpredictabilities, instabilities and an unknowable future. That world is represented by artist Rima Mardoyan, winner of Guild Hall's 67th Members Exhibition in 2005.

Her earliest paintings mirror our current situation in an intense way with reactions to September 11. Their material substance, texture and color remind us of the poignant pain felt after the Twin Towers disaster; the swirling movement (sometimes downward, sometimes circular) remains a reminder of transition where stability is still not certain.

Thus, Mardoyan's 2001 series, "Turbulence," thrusts us into another world that is directly opposite to the one created by the "East End Collections," where boundaries produced by the grid-like quilt patterns give us a sense of safety. Conversely, "Turbulence," provides no such spatial limitations. Instead, we feel we are falling into a never-ending hole when we look at Mardoyan's images. Moreover, her masterful use of red connotes the fire of hell.

The artist's lack of boundaries also shows up in varied environments. For example, paintings like "Turbulence in Blue" somehow connote an underwater locale while other works suggest a setting from the Ice Age. Another image looks like a view from the sky. Mardoyan's vision extends to all corners of the cosmos.

What's particularly arresting about Mardoyan's work is not only her themes, however. It's her use of the senses, from literal sight and texture to figurative sound, taste and smell. We are directly experiencing what she's imagining - with no boundaries in sight.

Rima Mardoyan's show will be on view at Guild Hall until Nov. 23. "East End Collections" will be on view until Jan. 18.

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