Teresita Fernández - Night Writing (Installation View), Lehmann Maupin Gallery
Teresita Fernández has often explored the natural elements as a framework of perception in her installations, allowing natural phenomena to act as a method of transformation and translation.  For Night Writing, her fifth solo exhibition at Lehmann Maupin, the artist has continued in this vein, creating a number of works that examine our imposition of meaning on the night sky.
Teresita Fernández – Night Writing (Installation View), Lehmann Maupin Gallery
At the center of the exhibition is an enormous hanging sculpture, crafted from layers of translucent dyed polycarbonate.  Lofted over the heads of gallery viewers in hues ranging from purple to black, the sculpture recreates the striking sensation of gazing at the Northern Lights, recalling natural environs while fundamentally altering the layout and lighting of the gallery
Teresita Fernández – Night Writing (Hero and Leander) (2011), Lehmann Maupin Gallery
The show also includes a number of prints, done while Fernández was in residence at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute. Made by hand from print-pulp, these striking images again evoke the Northern Lights, but are punctuated by a series of Braille dots bearing messages and passages from classic literature.  Making reference to the human inclination to read narrative meaning into the night sky by incorporating classic stories and mythologies, Fernández creates a multi-layered venture into humanity’s relationship with nature.
Teresita Fernández – Night Writing (Installation View), Lehmann Maupin Gallery
Combining a number of explorations into the mystical aspects of the night sky, Fernández’s work creates a lens through which to view the night sky, while reflecting on our own origins of meaning.  Night Writing is on view until October 20th at 201 Chrystie Street.
Teresita Fernández – Night Writing (Eureka) (2011), Lehmann Maupin Gallery
—D. Creahan
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