Know: No

Mulcahy’s free-standing pedestal piece, Know:No (2009), slides further from the organic side of the abstraction scale to the man-made. Defying the artist’s usual preference for transparency, this sculpture’s size, at 24" high, and solid black color have an affinity for Ron Desmett’s dark vessels. This curious and amusing figure is again made of circular forms: a couple of identical balls of shiny black glass sit one on top of the other, like two-thirds of a top heavy snowman. Two more much smaller balls are attached asymmetrically off the “shoulder” of each larger ball. The sculpture is recognized at once as a complete abstraction at the same time that it has pronounced figural associations. Its rounded forms and perky, upright stacking call to mind a children’s toy or kitchy ceramic figurine.

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Making a Know:No

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The association with toys is intentional. The artist is known for her blown glass Spinners (1989-present), not included in this exhibit. These large, singular forms have kaleidoscopic colored patterns that swirl around pointed volumes. They look like super-sized spinning tops and undoubtedly relate to Mulcahy’s memories of growing up in her parents’ toy store. But where the spinners are pretty and entertaining, Know: No is the bad toy, as the admonishment in the title tells us. There is a conceptual game afoot here. Know:No looks like a functional container, but it’s not. It looks like a toy, but it’s not. It looks like it’s made of ceramic or plastic, but it’s not. You think you know what it is but, no, you don’t.

Kristina Olson
Exhibition reviewer for Art in America and Associate Professor of Art History, West Virginia University