Ravenous
Smith Dudley Eliot Manuel Izquierdo Gallery, 226-4391

Through Oct 30

The Manuel Izquierdo Gallery has been taken hostage by an unusual, savage beast: a blood-red installation by the hands of the creator, Smith Dudley Eliot. The space is a curious, dimly lit womb that immediately summons the viewer to consider the connotations of red: sex, violence, and the sordid states in between.

Walking into the space, one shuffles through a thick, messy layer of bark dust covering the floor. An acrid, sweet smell hovers in the air as the viewer is overwhelmed by the site of a healthy supply of store-bought items and other intrigues, all stocking the room in shades of red.

A cozy chair and couch beckon the viewer to become immersed further, and from that vantage point the installation reaches its greatest sense of enclosure. Surrounded by an indulgence of goods dripping in the power of redness, the effect leaves one feeling either well-fed and satisfied, or over-stuffed, piggish, and disgusted. In Ravenous, Eliot presents the opportunity for each viewer to explore his or her own level of excess and question the path of the righteous--or the path of the wicked.