St Louis, MO
3/19/15 3:11 PM
What to worship in an era of television and plastic? Can colorful glitter and fabulous women in puffy sleeves meaningfully take the place of Buddhist mandalas and golden haloed Madonnas? (Not that Madonna, the genuinely virginal one.) Can data about weather events replace Biblical forecasts? Amy Reidel does not have a definitive answer, but in her paintings, videos and sculptural installations she poses these questions with disarming sincerity and genuine openness. Under Reidel’s contemporary telling, the tragic Karen Carpenter plays Jesus, homegrown crystals make fabulous magic, a custom window cling elevates like glorious stained glass, gold glitter renders an angelic halo, Julia Sugarbaker of the 80s sitcom “Designing Women” rages righteous feminist belief all the way to Heaven, and pixellation renders spiritual aura visible. Thank god? Thank shoulder pads.
—Lori Waxman