NADA New York 2024

Made by needle felting white wool and perched atop a white pedestal, “Bar Fight: Scene IV” is a sheep captured in a breezy, ‘contrapposto’ mid-step. The sculpture alludes to traditional marble statuaries, but is composed of wool—a material with working class and craft associations. It is soft, welcoming and playful; inviting the desire to touch and ponder the boundaries between the mythical and the real. Her loosely draped scarf, casually slung tote bag and sweater ‘en deshabille’ suggest a carefree, feminine and fey character. Depicted with bulbous curves and delicate details, tones of camp, queerness and humor animate the piece and are recurring themes in the artist’s work.

Latislaw began his felted wool sculpture series in 2019, and Bar Fight: Scene IV is the fourth in the sequence. In the artist’s narrative, this piece depicts the moment when, as the other figures (bear, duck, rabbit, fish and chicken) are engaged in a bar fight, this lady has exploited the chaos to steal a bottle of liquor and make her exit. The concrete details of the narrative are not as important to the artist, however, as the formal and creative possibilities that each part of the sequence affords—each arrangement or presentation allowing for new associations and imagining. For Latislaw, each figure informs the following one in a slow process of “neurotic story-building.”