Caroline Burton’s canvases transform Illinois Wesleyan University's Merwin Gallery
into an entirely different realm. In turns physically imposing and also delicate,
the works combine printmaking and painting into large compositions inspired, in part,
by Fritz Lang’s stunning, 1927 German expressionist film Metropolis.
Her work is created through a process of acquiring crocheted and knit blankets from
second-hand stores, dunking them in paint, and then pressing them on the canvas to
create different patterns. Subtly drawing upon a history of Process Art and collage,
the artist collaborates with these unknown makers of the blankets to build up her
forms. The blankets were originally created in a method that we associate with femininity
— the “women’s work” of crocheting or knitting, the soft feel of the blanket, and
the warmth that the objects bring. To these associations, she juxtaposes those that
are generally historically connected with the masculine — see: the history of abstraction
in the West, along with that reference of imposing architecture.
In a small “project space” in the gallery, Burton displays small paintings along with
a series of “drains” (sculptures) made of aluminum, resin, and rubber, a continuation
of her meditation on Metropolis — the drain, or catch basin, being an integral part of any urban environment. The
workers’ homes flood in the film; anyone who has lived in a city knows that street
drains are one of those things you tend to not notice until an emergency strikes,
and then they become vitally important. Here we have the hidden, forgotten structures
that provide an essential service but are often overlooked, elevated to the position
of works of fine art.
Merwin Gallery Illinois Wesleyan University 6 Ames Plaza West Bloomington, IL 61701
