Cupid's Arrow: The Loop @ Eve N Odd Gallery

Jennifer Kosharek, "The Loop"

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
Nor hath love's mind of any judgement taste;
Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste.
And therefore is love said to be a child
Because in choice he is so oft beguiled."
                                  --- William Shakespeare, A Midsummer's Night Dream

Jennifer Kosharek, "The Loop"

Cupid loosened arrows and carried a torch. Love hurts and burns, but is also a taste of Heaven. In this installation by Jennifer Kosharek, titled "The Loop" at Eve N Odd Gallery, the pain and ecstasies of Love are explored. The work consists of a 25ft. + long loop of paper with fictional texts from a cell phone (written in long hand) by an imaginary man.

The Loop, detail

The Loop, in part, is what remains after Love crashes or dissipates, the part that one gets to keep: The feelings and memories, both ecstatic and painful. They form a Loop in time, a short (or long) chapter in our lives, like a video loop or Finnegan's Wake, by James Joyce, one that plays over and over.

Jennifer Kosharek, "The Loop"

Conceptually, this is an interesting work. The "conversion" of digital text into cursive adds feeling and a sense of authenticity to the work. Having no spacing in the text brings to mind a religious scroll and gives the viewers a feeling of streaming feeling, of the tumultuousness of a new love. Reading this feels like being in the white water rapids of Love.

Jennifer Kosharek, "The Loop"

The Loop has only the texts of the man. One might want to see what the woman would have written, but one does anyway, because the mind abhors a vacuum, and the viewer finds themselves filling in that half of the dialogue. Also note that the imaginary man's texts are written out and visible in reality, the woman's (artists?) is not, a delectable dichotomy.

"The Loop", Upper view.

When there, note that the Loop is suspended from two AC ducts, like it would be from two lives. In the small space of the gallery, the installation is a little overwhelming spatially, just as Love is in one's life, specially after an epic fail.Jennifer Kosharek's Loop is an unusually strong work, threading questions between the personal and public, the two kinds of Love, digital and real life, opening sweet wounds in the minds and hearts of every viewer. I can recommend this without reservation.






The show is up and has an opening on Saturday, Feb 9th, from 6-9 PM. On the 14th (VD), there will be performances held. Free Admission. All at Eve N Odd Gallery, at 635 Central Ave. in St. Pete.

                                            The back bumper of Gretel, Jennifer's Art Car.