The theme of the 2019 Joshua Liner show was “Dimensionality,” an in-depth investigation of the different modes that interested Stark. The project includes paintings, sculptures, installations and a major mural. “As the exhibition title suggests, Stark plays with painting and sculpture by adding or emphasizing the dimensions of his works, often transforming two-dimensional objects into three-dimensional objects,” the gallery said. “‘Squared’ consists of thirty-five square powder-coated aluminum panels that perch on the wall like a painting. Each aluminum panel is painted a different color and has a concentric square fold that extends from the picture plane toward the viewer.”
Although her experiments may seem simple at first, her work functions like the work of her tone-obsessed predecessors, from Sol Lewitt to Yayoi Kusama. One has to spend time with it; it surrounds you and takes you to a more ancient awareness of color and form. (It’s no surprise that Ernst Haeckel, a versatile turn-of-the-century figure who named thousands of new species while also innovating science and art, was also influenced by her.)
I believe that light travels, and with that, Images of a moment in time can move through space…”
Still, misconceptions persist about even the oldest pursuit of Stark’s practice: “A lot of people don’t realize that I hand-cut all of the paper sculptures,” she says. “They think a machine or laser cutter can do it, and can’t believe that someone would or could cut it by hand. Sometimes people think I’m a big acidhead or a stoner because of my images. While I dabble in it occasionally, I figured out the basis of my artwork long before I was exposed to these altered states. I think these shapes and feelings are already inside us, waiting to come out. Psychedelics just make it more palpable.”
Although Stark’s work has a transportive function, she is still on her own journey. In an interview in 2016, she mentioned that she only started meditating seriously that year. A statement provides a window into the concepts unlocked in this search: “[Her] Her art is driven by her interest in conceptualizing visual systems to simulate plant growth, evolution, infinity, fractals, mimicking terrain, and sacred geometry. Using available materials—paper, wood, metal, paint—Stark strives to create works that balance visual seduction and perceptual engagement. “
