SUITABLE MEANS
New Art Center in Newton, MA
Jan-March 2002
by Susan Mulski

Clothing, our biggest form of nonverbal communication, can certainly make expressive art. In Suitable Means, four artist explore this theme by using unusual materials on traditional clothing forms or by using clothing as their art-making medium...

Aparna Agrawal's Body Armors contains nine baby size body suits cast in plaster and suspended from plastic armatures. The surface treatments, ranging from iridescent white or earth colors to surfaces encrusted with shells or gilded with silver leaf, make these simple forms evocative. The delicate paint on the childlike forms appears vulnerable- the very antithesis of armor. But the shells, with their jagged edges, look lethal...

Clothes are something we can all relate to, making this an accessible and lively show. The gallery deserves kudos for offering an evening for educators as well as children's workshops attended by the artists . For a gallery whose mission is to be connected to the community, this show fits like a glove.