L’OEUF ET L'OEIL (THE EGG & THE EYE)

Solo show // How’s Howard? Exhibitions, South End, Boston, MA

L’œuf et L’œil (The Egg and The Eye) describes an ongoing body of painting and sculpture that explore perception, boundaries, feminism and queerness through the visual and material language of tennis. The following is a guide for framing these playful works.

L’œuf is said to be the origin of the english term "love" in tennis because eggs resemble a zero in three dimensions. Players are tied at l’œuf or love at the beginning of a game. The latin alphabet grapheme Œ is playfully referred to as “e dans l’o” ("e in the o") or “o et e collies” ("o and e glued") by the French. Other words that employ Œ include cœur ("heart"), sœur ("sister"), œuvre ("work"), and œil ("eye").

In recent years, tennis players who doubt the vision or judgement of a line umpire may turn to a “computer vision system” called Hawk-eye to verify a disputed call. A notorious match in the 2004 US Open between Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati, in which Serena lost a match due to a high number of unfair line calls, was a game changer for implementing the system as standard protocol. Hawk-eye technology closely surveils the game of tennis via 6 or 7 eyes, cameras positioned to track the trajectory of a moving tennis ball from different angles. The recorded information is then triangulated and combined to create a representation of the ball's contact with the court. Taking ball skid and compression into account, this image never resembles the spherical tennis ball we all know. Instead, the simulated impression favors the contour of an egg as if sitting on top one of Barnett Newman’s painted zips. The particular hawk-eye imagery that informs these works were pulled from the Serena vs Venus Williams match that she had the privilege of attending with her mother at the 2015 US Open.

This direction is also inspired by many years of playing competitive sports and the times Molteni watched, in awe, as her mother seamlessly pulled spare tennis balls from under her skirt. Handmade Tennis Panty sculptures are made from found fabrics that feature gestural Action Painting motifs, reflecting appropriation of Abstract Expressionist language by late 80’s & 90’s activewear textile design. Also included is a series of “Racket String” drawings (unfortunately very difficult to photograph on duralar). Inspired by the knot studies and prints of Anni Albers, a tangle of strings removed from the tennis racket present compositions of color shifts resulting from dismantled racket logos.

Photos courtesy of Gordon Feng

Hawkeye Simulation 4 of 4_ OUT_Venus Challenges Serena, Women's Quarterfinal, US Open 2016.jpg

Hawkeye Simulation 1 of 4_ Linecall OUT_Venus Challenges Serena_ Women's Quarterfinal, 2015 US Open 2016.jpg

Hawkeye Simulation 3 of 4 IN_Serena Challenges Venus_Women's Quarterfinal_US Open.jpg

9 Linecall Color Study 2 (Hawkeye) 2016.jpg

14 Three Flying Yonis_ from L'oeuf et L'oeil (The Egg and the Eye) 2016.jpg

2 Untitled Painted Tennis Net 2016 copy.jpg

4 Untitled Melted Tennis Net 2016 copy.jpg

913 Maria Molteni E Dans L’o (E in the O) 2016 copy.jpg

10 Hawkeye Simulation paintings_installation shot 2016 copy.jpg

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L’OEUF ET L'OEIL (THE EGG & THE EYE)

Solo show // How’s Howard? Exhibitions, South End, Boston, MA

Cate McQuaid Reviews L'oeuf et L'oeil (The Egg and the Eye) for the Boston Globe

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