Paperwork's new show has branched out from its "works on paper" criteria, to the benefit of the exhibition. Mise En Scene, featuring the work of Audrey Collins Petrich, Lillian Bayley Hoover, and Guillaume Pallat, includes photography, paintings (on canvas!) and Petrich's multi-media installations. Each artist, and Petrich in particular, pays close attention to the design of their setting. Figures become secondary elements, and the interest is in the detail. As always, I prefer photographs in frames, but arranged as if stills from a film, Pallat's images read well and employ a consistent humor. Hoover's large paintings are a feat of technical expertize, although maybe a little rigid. It is really in Petrich's delicate dioramas that the theme is best articulated. Her work is personal and precise, balancing nostalgia and ambiguity. 
Audrey Collins Petrich
Lillian Bayley Hoover, above and below
Guillaume Pallat
Detail of Petrich's diorama
Monique and Michael supporting friends
Audrey Collins Petrich
Hans and Gary
Check out the show, on view through March 7, 2009.
Paperwork Gallery
107 E. Preston Street
www.paperworkgallery.com
