RED-CARPET LIFESTYLE HAS PEAKS AND VALLEYS IN THE SHOW “V.I.P.”
The piece: “I am a very important person”
The artist: Ariane Roesch Where: Gallery Sonja Roesch, through May 26
Why: Anyone fascinated by the way celebrities preen and parade like exotic birds down red carpets might get a chuckle with the central piece of Ariane Roesch’s show. This oval carpet has a nice, plush pile but goes nowhere.
It’s like a feedback loop, the artist writes in her blog. “You walk in a circle, like a broken record.”
Gallery visitors are welcome to trek across the carpet and mug for whatever paparazzi might be in the room, even if they have not secured scene-stealing designer gowns, shoes and jewels for the moment. Although they’re more likely to have the place to themselves; in which case they can contemplate the trio of huge, pastel-charcoal drawings on white felt on the surrounding walls.
In the vein of works by Joseph Beuys made on felt, Roesch’s drawings depict the world’s deadliest mountains for climbers. Japan’s Mount Fuji, the Matterhorn in Switzerland and Mount Fitz Roy in Patagonia are in the center of the gallery. Mount Everest, the deadliest of all, fills another wall near the door.
What the …? Is there some connection? Ah … social climbing!
Roesch says the show is about the feeling of awe and how it can motivate ambitious people in their desire to achieve privilege or take risks. “Awe-inspiring experiences may be one of the fastest and most powerful methods of personal change and growth,” she writes. “Yet they also reinforce social hierarchies. Primordial awe is the hardwired response that low-status individuals feel in the presence of more powerful, high-status individuals and beings.” Adding to the cheeky concept, Roesch has set up a pedestal with an old-school red phone. A printed a guide to the auditory experience that awaits listeners there instructs, “Dial zero, and you’ll climb through harsh conditions, walk through a crevasse, uncover a hidden stream, encounter wildlife and experience inner growth and calm without leaving your comfort zone.”
The show extends into the gallery’s bathroom, where visitors may wash their hands while standing on a red bathmat printed with the words, “I am a very important person.”
“It’s your daily affirmation,” said dealer Sonja Roesch, the artist’s mother. “One woman bought three of them for each of her kids.”
Ariane, who earned her BFA at the University of Houston and her MFA at California Institute of the Arts, has explored the metaphoric possibilities of mountains for a while, and she often works with fabric. She’s a sly one — and while she has shown her work internationally, it’s a good bet that the irony of a show called “V.I.P,” installed within her mother’s space, has not been lost on her.