Living Arrangements: New Work by Alicia Little

In April Alicia Elizabeth Little took up residence in Live(In) Gallery.  With this new body of work the artist, having just moved house, examines her domestic surroundings and all that they imply through a series of arrangements, both serious and mundane. Within a domestic space one is forced to think about compromise, roles, status, accommodation, adaptation, and comfort.  A house is a constructed setting, within which we strive to meet the needs of our biological functions, as well as aesthetic impulses. The inclination to decorate and arrange stems from observations of balance that exists in the natural world. Through the use of artificial materials, such as faux plants, and plastic, we try to simulate this balance, while also attempting to accommodate not only our aesthetic, but that of other members of the household as well. Using everyday items, Little presents a variety of works whose placement results in a kind of tension between objects and space. The results of these meditations suggest scenarios of struggle and imperfection, while the use of plastic  found objects and thick paint maintains a glossy appearance.

 The work of Alicia Little is both familiar and strikingly odd. She possess an innate ability to transform mundane objects in such a was as to make them impossible to turn away from quickly. I first became familiar with Little's work while she was a student at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. Her use of color and shape is spellbinding, it's a little bit Eva Hesse and a little bit pastel pop art rolled into one.  Sharing space with Little's work was a joy, but at times a negotiation and required quick reflexes. This was true particularly for one of the works that balanced precariously on three golden legs. One had to make sure that the feet of the sculpture were placed just so in the grooves of the floor. 

My favorite of her works from the show at Live(In) involved a plaid Thermos, latex, faux ivy, a tassel,  and a mustard-colored grid-like plaster shape attached to the wall. This piece, was so fascinating to live with, the faux ivy seemed to challenge the real plants located in the apartment simply by being there. As the month of April marched on I found myself noticing more details to this particular work. The yellow of the plaster piece mimicked the yellow in the plaid pattern on the Thermos. The playful tension of this piece fit in the space with all its faux gaudy glory.

Following her graduation she and fellow classmate Liz Hardy had a two woman show at Hobohaus Gallery. Alicia was also part of the final? show at Hobohaus in November of last year. Her piece involved a simple set of house blinds and gold foil.

Alicia Little is a sculptor and painter from Cincinnati, OH.  She received her BFA from the Art Academy of Cincinnati in 2013. Combining multiple objects and using walls to create three-dimensional paintings, her work focuses on empathizing with objects and perceiving struggles based on their placement and arrangement. Alicia seeks to enlarge and dramatize these often mundane struggles through the use of color, tension, and balance within a space. She often places things close together and in clusters, similar to how one would arrange furniture and decorations within a home. Her work stems from a combination of everyday stimuli that she often processes and formulates into visual experiences.