Press Release
Offramp Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition, Susan Sironi: New ABCS: Altered Books & Collages from October 23-November 20, 2011. There will be an opening reception for the artist on Sunday, October 23 from 2-5pm and a closing reception on Sunday, November 20 from 2-5pm. New ABCS: Altered Books & Collages is Sironi's second solo exhibition at Offramp Gallery.
Using books as her primary medium, Susan Sironi addresses current issues such as gender bias, consumerism, global warming and religious dogma. Careful page-by-page editing and cutting of books results in awe-inspiring three dimensional collages that speak to us in a visual language that has little to do with the author's original intent.
In Sironi's deft hands, ordinary books are transformed from literary communicators to unique one-of-a-kind art works that fascinate with their complex architecture and rich imagery. The black and white illustrations from a small volume of Alice in Wonderland cut through the outlines of a human footprint become a labyrinthine three-dimensional pastiche of Alice's adventures, with Alice calmly observing from a corner.
Eight copies of Daniel Foley's small book Garden Flowers in Color become eight "Secret Gardens", each a fantastical botanical diorama in a different hue. Leftover cuttings from the books form the basis for Sironi's "Mixed Messages" series of mixed-media collages. Romantic looking floral bouquets are overlaid with Sironi's "rants" -- handwritten stream of consciousness texts modified so we only see the extenders of the letters, leaving us to ponder the content.
In all of her work, Sironi reminds us that as technology advances, rapidly replacing paper and ink books with Kindles, Nooks and iPads, the quality of prior experience can still be appreciated, as in the simple experience of opening a book.