kate steciw continues her exploration into the construction and dissemination of consumer culture in her first solo show at toomer labzda, boundless hyper. the show’s title, arrived at using a common web-based naming software that pairs at random various search optimized terms, speaks to steciw’s ongoing interest in the ideologies and aesthetics of networked culture. with a focus on e-commerce, steciw addresses the implications and applications of user identity both online and off.

three large works incorporate digitally composited stock photographs in custom frames adorned with various household and consumer products purchased online; sports tape, ceramic tiles, automotive embellishments, faux wood, and contact paper. the result is a confluence of two and three-dimensional space. both familiar and unsettling, the works emphasize editing over creating per se.

the accompanying sculptures are created by manipulating a popular piece of “affordable” wall art displaying, in three separate cast metal pieces, the quote – live, laugh, love. steciw bends and twists the words together into illegible yet aesthetically pleasing forms evocative of modernist metal work. the pieces blur the lines between decor and institutionally ordained art object. the physical intervention with mass produced consumable is simultaneously, destructive and creative.

born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, steciw received a BA in Sociology from Smith College and an MFA with a concentration in Photography from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. her first book, The Strangeness of This Idea was published by Hassla in June 2010. she has exhibited extensively in New York, in group shows at galleries including Higher Pictures, Horton Gallery, BAMart, Stadium and foxy production. solo exhibitions include Primary Photographic Gallery, NY, klausgallery.net, The Green Room, London and toomer labzda.

toomer labzda, 100a forsyth street between grand and broome streets in the lower east side of new york gallery hours are thursday – sunday, 11am – 6pm and wednesday by appointment only. nearest subway stops are grand street on the B/D lines and delancey street on the F/J/M/Z lines for more information please contact [email protected] or call +1 917 488 3388