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LIZ-N-VAL: OF CABBAGES & KINGS at REALFORM, Sept 7-Oct 7, 2007

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Review by Gulshen Calik (aka Lily Faust)

Realform in Williamsburg lies at the intersection of North 5th Street and Bedford Avenue. In this unique setting that is part gallery, part window display and part storefront, stands the latest installation of Liz-N-Val's artistic expression,"Of Cabbages and Kings."

The suggestions in the title result in both a smile and an "ahha" moment as one catches sight of the piece, consisting of three paintings executed on a reflective, mirror-like surface, surrounding a three-dimensional sculpture titled "KaBOOM!"

Recalling the detonation of an explosive device, the sculpture is constructed out of the precarious balancing of two wooden file cabinets, painted black, giving rise to a cloud of foam, similar to a colorful atomic fallout. Is it the Big Bang of science or the Biblical shaping of the infinite depicted here? It is at this moment of contemplation that the work's humor overrides other interpretations.

The colorful foam, far from sinister, appears like pop corn in the sky. Tiny black figures, ant-like in proportion to the size of the panel, scurry across the expanse of the mirror's reflective surface, a reminder of the Sisyphean efforts of other earthly creatures.

In the middle panel, a celestial perspective depicts the drama of the cosmic sun in relationship to the earth; while in the third panel, planetary orbs are pictorialized in the graphic shorthand characteristic of Liz-N-Val's other work.

Touching on divine matters so ostentatious that it becomes delightfully absurd, Liz-N-Val continue on their mega voyage discovering and distributing the detritus of our lives into anecdotal images.