| No Sure Footing |
| Written by Kathryn-Terese Haik | |
 Forbidden Love #2 Artist Leslee Fraser takes the absurdity of kitsch and turns it on its head, landing in the realm of dark humor. Her current exhibition, No Sure Footing, at Women & Their Work (1710 Lavaca St) uses ceramic figurines to create an assemblage that draws in viewer for a double take. Her allegories replicate life’s obscurities, and provide a ripeness to reflect such things as suburban malls, the Bible, scientific theory, and domestic fetish. She assembles such notable tokens into unique vignettes that speak in parables and tenderness at the same time.
No Sure Footing is comprised of 13 staged scenes, arranged to reflect poignant scenarios straddling the line between funny and disturbing, causing a startling effect that demands a closer look. The tiny scene “Precious Little” features, of course, a mass-produced Precious Moments collectible figurine. Fraser placed a statue of a tearful child wearing an astronaut suit less than a foot away from a pile of fool’s gold with a skull—allegorizing our unreachable and possibly foolish dreams juxtaposed with the discovery of material riches. One can’t help but wonder how many childhood dreams are derailed once the power of money becomes a motivator.  Cock Fight #2 Her vignettes, although humorous and thought provoking, with their odd scenes and dramatic commentary are also somewhat unnerving. What Fraser’s work knows well is that life can be cruel, and she imparts this notion throughout her exhibit. Though her work is stark and oftentimes dispiriting, it is offset by the joy and care she seems to take in creating her work. She makes beautiful representations using the glaze of the paint shelf or the unconventional scripts of her placards. No Sure Footing can be seen at Women & Their Work through February 21. The exhibit, as all showings at W&TW, is free.  Precious Little |