Nicole Doran: Prick

Spinello Projects – Project Room 2

Perched up like young birds, begging for mother’s breadth, Nicole Doran’s constructed phallus planters undoubtedly celebrate springtime. Their bases, sturdy, full, and firm, are containment vessels for self-assurance. Bulbous cacti, succulents, and airplants find homes in ceramic, biomorphic designs. Burrito Dick, Rocketship Dick, Cheese Dick, Snake Dick are Doran’s caricatures of the phallus. As we get lost in constructed, day to day personalities in a constant sea of competitors, these appropriated images remind us of the dangers of a post-modern ego. Doran’s towering impudent figurines solicit attention but when drawn closely always prick. Their utilitarianism is recognizable: an erect handle, two holders; they can easily become staples for the modern home. These pieces are a distinguishable visual contrast to her Bathroom Paintings which are hung upon the walls. Heavenly soft, these works draw reference from highly designed geometric patterns of contemporary linens. Graphic design and pattern design seep into today’s abstraction, as some would critique, but how can commercial business not source from today’s painters? This almost makes it difficult to determine what came first: the chicken or the egg. In a sense, neither matter as both are eventually commodified.