COVID-19
An artist might be forgiven for having the hubris to transform crumpled aluminum, talcum powder, polystyrene, canvas, encaustic and other humble materials into wondrous creations that seem to defy the laws of nature. A critic might be forgiven for so thoroughly enjoying their existence. So it goes with the small wall-mounted sculptures Ahavani Mullen includes in From Sky to Sky, her online fall solo exhibition at CIRCA Gallery of Minneapolis. The show also includes close to a dozen mid-size abstract paintings, but their otherworldliness is tepid and hazy where that of the reliefs is hot and palpable. Imagine blocks of stone chiseled from neon cliffs, crude tools shaped from sharp and gleaming jewels, crystallized surfaces and infinitely complex geometries of gleaming shiny matter. Strange though these things are, they be made but by a human artist in her earth-bound studio — and they are all the more exquisite for it.
—Lori Waxman 2021-01-29 2:36 PM