Hailing from New York City, Dill is fascinated with human language and communication. Her work strings words into visual and installation art. In Dill’s creations, words formulate shapes and forms, from body parts to clothing. Mixing different genres of art, Dill is a photographer, painter, writer, and sculptor. Not wanting to limit her range of creativity, she attempts to intermingle all categories in her exhibitions and all entail the use of language.
Cynthia Thompson, the curator of “Unspoken,” has worked with a variety of international artists, such as Louise Bourgeois, Petah Coyne, Lesley Dill, Andres Serrano, and Amy Sillman.
As curator for the exhibit, Thompson loved pairing Dill’s art books with her smaller and intimate sculptures.
“They both deal with language, transparency, and the body,” Thompson says.
The most catching aspect of Dill’s work is her diverse use of materials and the manner in which she manipulates them.
“Lesley’s work has such an incredible power to it, even works which are small in scale,” Thompson says. “They resonate with you — the materials, the form, and the text. She melds these together in a very sophisticated manner to create eloquent pieces.”
“Unspoken” contains five pieces from Dill’s collection. The works include petite sculptures and words communicating movement using gampi paper, bronze, string, letters, and other unique materials.
“I love ‘Clench’ and her artist book ‘The Thrill Came Slowly,’ ” Thompson says. “They are quiet, intimate, and somewhat sad pieces. To me, they are about the attempt made to hold onto something fragile or fleeting.”
The exhibition is a quiet look at Dill’s smaller sculptures along with her artist book. It provides the viewer a chance to sit quietly in the gallery and let these works speak out. Thompson hopes the exhibit will enable viewers to find the pauses between the displays and to find the connections as well.
“Unspoken: The Voice of Lesley Dill” is featured in the U’s Art Department in the Alvin Gittin Gallery. The exhibit runs Jan. 2-24 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.