OPENS: SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2009

Leslee Fraser
In The Absence of Empathy
July 11, 2009 – August 8, 2009

Open House:  Saturday, July 11, 2009, 12pm – 6pm
Artist’s Reception:  Saturday, July 11, 2009, 6pm – 8pm

In conjunction with ArtHouston 2009, Leslee Fraser makes her Houston debut at Apama Mackey Gallery with her show of new small-scale installations, In the Absence of Empathy.  Fraser collects an assortment of common decorative figurines that become small symbolic objects that are arranged and altered to create preposterous tableaus.  Funny, often dark, and sometimes poignant, her work speaks about finding meaning in human existence beyond the everyday.  Profoundly interested in what shapes us, the kitschy and suburban iconography Fraser utilizes become players in narratives based upon natural and political histories, stories from the Bible, and concepts from fields of biology.  That these grand ideas are condensed to such an intimate scale is merely a reflection of how the world can become small and absurd when faced with challenges such as personal tragedy or chronic illness.  These assemblages that Fraser constructs are like new allegories that better reflect the absurd realities of life.

About the artist:
Leslee Fraser is a humorous and irreverent commentator.  Native to Minnesota, Fraser completed her undergraduate studies at the University of California-Davis and received her M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Most recently, she completed a solo-exhibition, No Sure Footing, at Women & Their Work in Austin, Texas.  Fraser exhibits throughout the United States and currently lives and works in San Antonio, Texas.

Click here for more information: ArtHouston 2009: Leslee Fraser: In the Absence of Empathy

(Pictured: I Wouldn't Help You If I Could, And I Could, dimensions variable, 2009)