Eva Rothschild

The Modern Institute, Glasgow, until Fri 19 Dec

SCULPTURE AND MIXED MEDIA

You may experience a frisson of excitement upon entering Eva Rothschild’s exhibition at the Modern Institute. At first glance, it may seem that you’ve stumbled into a weird S&M jungle. Specially conceived with the space in mind, ‘Supernature’ is a sleek sculptural installation that divides the front gallery into four discreet sections. The sculpture is reflected back on itself, if slightly distorted, by a wall of glistening black perspex. Black and shining with gloss paint, the sculpture’s frame is explicitly Modernist in appearance, but its angularity is tempered by snake-like forms that coil around the work. Hand-woven from strips of leather, these uncanny objects simultaneously recall snakes, whips and jungle vines.

A smaller sculptural work is hemmed in to one side. Balanced on a double plinth constructed from sleek black tiles, the piece is capped by a white ‘molecule’ of plaster, bandages and multicoloured dashes of spraypaint. Its disjunctive, handmade appearance sits oddly within the installation as a whole, undermining the sleek modernism of first impressions.

‘Rotten Apple’, a large floor-based sculpture, is again constructed from black tiles. Gaping holes allow the viewer to see into the hollow centre of the piece, out of which emerges a green-and-black striped metal ‘sapling’. These incongruities are intriguing, neatly linking back to the more-than-nature concept established in the first room, and reinforcing a potential Biblical interpretation. If you like your sculpture gutsy and assured, this show is well worth seeing.