Locust Projects is pleased to present Decollage, a solo exhibition by New York-based artist Francesca DiMattio. Decollage describes the process DiMattio uses – of cutting, tearing and peeling away images – to explore collage through large banners and a site-specific mural. 

DiMattio is known for her large-scale paintings depicting spaces where architectural and modernist forms, sculptural figures, and art historical elements collide with one another. Using various painting techniques, the artist creates the illusion of collage in these works. For her exhibition at Locust Projects, DiMattio will create an installation that continues her exploration of the spaces where disparate elements meet -- by employing actual collage for the first time.

In banners that measure up to ten feet in height, Xerox images are glued on top of one another, and then peeled away in parts to reveal new forms and relationships. The source materials come from DiMattio's archive of magazines such as Home and Garden and National Geographic, found books, and reproductions of the artist's paintings. Images are lacerated into strips and cut into quilt patterns, only to be re-adhered using weaving and scrap-booking techniques. Each artwork simultaneously illustrates the diametrical concepts of building and collapsing space. The pieces are further accentuated with acrylic and watercolor paint.

A site-specific mural will also be created at Locust Projects, drawing inspiration from the culture and scenery of the Miami area. This work is composed of clips of the sun, beach chairs, ocean, ships and construction cranes. Rather than present a coherent narrative, however, the images are fragmented, broken, and interrupted. Each element is given equal weight, radically altering traditional hierarchies of value and forming a powerful piece that vacillates between abstraction and figuration.

About the artist
Francesca DiMattio (b. 1981) lives and works in New York. She has had solo exhibitions at Salon 94 in New York, and LAXART in Los Angeles. She is currently part of the group exhibition Abstract America: New Painting and Sculpture at The Saatchi Gallery in London and will present a solo show, ArtWall at ICA Boston in 2010. DiMattio's work is in the permanent collection of the Miami Museum of Art.

This exhibition is made possible with the support from: Andy Warhol Foundation; Galt & Skye Mikesell; Hannibal Cox Jr. Foundation; Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor, and the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners. Special thanks to Salon 94, New York. Design: Venture Architects.