This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 3, 2011 - At Los Caminos, Brookhart Jonquil's "Physical Spectrum" is a group of four works, all 2011, that deal with reflections, transparency, the real and unreal, and our perception of objects in space.
The mirrored plexiglas letters ECNALUBMA are embedded in one wall, at roughly a driver's eye level -- it generates the momentary disorientation one experiences seeing "Ambulance" written in reverse on an oncoming emergency vehicle.
For "Full Length Mirror," Jonquil attached mirrored planes to the juncture of the wall and the floor; it's as if the mirror simply slid down from its position on the wall, unexpectedly extending and complicating the room's spatial coordinates in its new position.
"Envelope" consists of five panes of glass leaning on one another, forming a crystalline wall extension that is reflective and transparent at once.
And "Biosphere Light Structure" is an uncanny digital print showing a transparent crystal floating inside the steel-and-glass latticework architecture of the Biosphere II ecosystem in Arizona.
Jonquil, a Chicago-based artist, deftly shifts from photography to sculptural installation to make works that destabilize our grip on perceived reality. Lurking somewhere within his art is the ghost of Robert Smithson, who was likewise inspired by crystalline forms, frequently installed mirrors in galleries, and mused on the nature of perception.
Jonquil's show benefits from the domestic setting of Los Caminos, a second-floor apartment gallery on Cherokee Street run by Cole Root and Francesca Wilmott. Los Caminos, along with Isolation Room and Cosign Projects, represents the recent development of a St. Louis-based DIY, home-based alternative gallery culture, a movement that started in Brooklyn, N.Y., and is currently thriving in Chicago.
It's imperative to support these venues as they become increasingly important options for exhibiting and viewing contemporary art. To viewers: don't be put off by "appointment only" gallery hours. At Los Caminos, Root and Wilmott are extremely welcoming and accommodating. Give a call and pay a visit. It's well worth the time.
Ivy Cooper, a professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, is the Beacon art critic.