Banks Violette's Monumental Installations at Gladstone Gallery

Banks Violette presented two monumental installations at Barbara Gladstone Gallery in New York from February 12 to April 17, 2010. The exhibition featured "Throne (and over and over again)," an oversized neon chandelier with long black wires connected to an instrument box, and "Blackouts/blackholes (and all the things between) / for DS 7.13.09," a ultra-glossy black fiberglass wall shattered into three parts, held by immense scaffolding and tiny sandbags. Produced in collaboration with Team Gallery, the works aimed to overwhelm viewers with their ambition and scale. Violette, a 37-year-old New York artist who emerged at the 2004 Whitney Biennial, is a former tattoo artist influenced by Steven Parrino and black metal aesthetics. The broken panels are dedicated to Dash Snow, who died of an overdose in July 2009. Violette's controlled aesthetic contrasts with the spontaneity of Snow and Terence Koh, and he has also designed a fitting room for Dior Homme under Hedi Slimane.