In her current exhibition, Noelle Allen presents drawings and a sculpture mirroring the complex stucture of a mysterious anatomy. Is the work referring to the human body or some unknown organism? The drawings and sculpture reference three-dimensional scientific models used in biology to study the inner system of organs. Whereas these flesh-coloured models attempt to be lifelike imitations of the original, Noelle Allen's "microscopic topographies" on Mylar are monochromatic and elusive. Like criminalists analyze traces on a crime scene and pour cement in footwear impressions, Noelle Allen also employs forensic techniques in order to make secrets visible. But how old are these relics? Are they recent or are they fossils, plants and insects turned into stone thousands of years ago? Her sculptures and drawings puzzle; their filigree beauty seems timeless. Her drawings form a mysterious microcosm and are reminiscent of Wolfgang Tillman's sublime abstract photograms.

Arteries, veins, and the interior pathways of the body form the basis for the complex topographies represented in the drawings and sculpture. Lattice and Tension explores and intricately details the connections, byways, channels, and connections that are vital to all life. Drawing on the theory of fractals, the drawings on Mylar and concrete sculpture generate fragmented images that seem self-similar but are, in fact, infinitely complex. The complexity of the compositions suggests corporeal transformation: the ability of physical bodies to break, tear, decay, heal, and regenerate. These modes of repetition and mutation are mirrored in the time-intensive and laborious processes by which the drawings were created. (Noelle Allen)

NOELLE ALLEN, originally from Sacramento, California, received a Bachelor's degree in studio art from Smith College and a Masters of Fine Arts in sculpture from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2004. She lives and works in Chicago and is an assistant professor of art at Dominican University, River Forest, IL. In the past year, her work was exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the University of Pennsylvania Fox Art Gallery, and in New American Talent, a traveling exhibition in Texas curated by Aimee Chang.

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