Exhibition Archive > The Glittering Point

The Glittering Point
Shanti Grumbine
June 27 – July 21, 2013

The Glittering Point refers to the phrase “glittering generalities,” a mid-nineteenth century description of propaganda involving vague
words or phrases used to evoke positive feelings rather than to convey information. Employing sensational imagery of war, sparkling luxury items, and political campaigns culled from The New York Times, this exhibition includes prints, paper-cuts, and drawings that explore the moment when symbols cease to direct, support, or explain logically, and instead provoke generalized sensations of the sublime.

Using removal, overlap, and reconfiguration, Grumbine ruptures text and image to explore moments where the particulars of communication break down. Adorned with metallic paint, mirrors and glitter, the transformed page reveals a paradoxical space of both superficial manipulation and access to the sacred. The scintillating absence pervading the work highlights this common desire for some glittering point just out of reach and its promise of wholeness and completion.