Anti-Plastic @ Flashpoint
Toy model kits, usually relegated to the enthusiastic hobbyist, are turned on their head at Anti-Plastic, currently showing at Flashpoint. The show is filled with nostalgia, juxtapositions and exploration. Artist Anthony Cervino uses scraps of toys and the wiry, plastic structures typically used to contain the parts of pre-assembled model kits, such as planes or cars, and deconstructs them to create various low-relief sculptural settings and landscapes.
Cervino's work has many easily seen commonalities. All of his compositions are centered on large canvases and painted a uniform gray. The gray is painstakingly applied with a tiny brush, perhaps ironically giving the work a mass-produced feel, but the application pays homage to model enthusiasts, who spend numerous hours on detailing their models. The canvases provide ample white space around each piece, lending a frame and giving focus; they're are also painted a subtle pastel color, allowing the harsh gray to pop. The subtle coloring infuses the work with feminine undertones, providing a juxtaposition to the masculine subject matter.
Cervino's work resides somewhere between painting and sculpture, as each piece on display was composed from the ground up, then placed on the wall, making an interesting dynamic. While these common areas are seen throughout the show, Cervino's work can also be categorized into three different groupings.
The first grouping is a series titled Archimorph (below). These canvases are dominated by very low-relief, sharp lines and structure. Cervino plays with the sprues (the plastic structures that hold the model parts that normally get thrown away once the "important" pieces are popped out) and puts these leftovers on par with finished models. The sprues are filled in with resin and arranged so the compositions are reminiscent of a bird's eye view of city blocks, industrial parks or war targets. The latter is an intriguing connection to the material as many toy models are of various mobile war memorabilia.
In Archimorph Prime, the sprues are almost completely flat, with minimal hints as to what they once were or contained. The boxy shapes are aligned on a diamond plane in the center of the canvas. The effect is of looking at building plans or again targets. Cervino continues this theme in Archimorphs I - XV, but the canvases are smaller and only contain one sprue each, further deconstructing the material, pushing the forms to the abstract.
In a second set of work, Cervino shows a more organic side. In these pieces, there are no sprues to give formal structure but bits and pieces of the toys themselves. These elements are arranged on top of or in poured layers of resin. Colony highlights this exploration with Monopoly houses placed on top of layered blobs of resin. This is the most structured of this series as the blobs are lined up 3 by 3, but the organic nature of the resin balances this out. The components take on topographical characteristics and can be seen as a series within the composition or as the name suggests, a colony of the tiny houses on top of tiny hills.
The third grouping found in Anti-Plastic, shows more complex compositions with large expanses of canvas, in what can only be described as crash scenes with the inner workings and multiple pieces of models carefully placed in tight, confusing configurations. Each of these works were constructed quite deliberately and are thoroughly thought through arrangements.
At Once Was I (top) is a massive jumble of model plane parts jutting every which way from the canvas. The scene shows an outrageous disaster and you can't help but think 'plane crash', but it is an understatement. The cacophony of plane refuse is centered in the middle of the largest canvas in the gallery and has the most depth out of all the artwork. The piece highlights Cervino's ability to work at both the macro and micro level, as the over all composition is tight as well as the minute detail. Each component contained within this composition was found in the trash, individually wrapped and discarded en mass. In tribute to the former owner of the model pieces, Cervino included the person's name on the back of the canvas.
Images courtesy the gallery.
Anti-Plastic is on view through October 11. Flashpoint is located at 916 G Street, NW and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 12 to 6 p.m. or by appointment.