Contributed by Kelly Inouye

Harbor, an artist-run gallery in Bushwick, Brooklyn has a two-person show up through April 7th featuring JJ Miyaoka-Pakola and Cassie Raihl.  Raihl’s sculpture playfully utilizes found objects associated with exercise and body issues while Miyaoka-Pakola’s paintings employ “…an array of painting techniques and a color palette that references sources ranging from 16th century Iranian illuminated manuscripts to J. Crew catalogues”.

JJ Miyaoka-Pakola, Courtesy Harbor.

JJ Miyaoka-Pakola, Courtesy Harbor.

Fragmented quotation has been a mainstay of contemporary art for many decades. Rather than focusing on the frenetic and overwhelming aspect of life in the 21st Century, Miyaoka-Pakola’s work celebrates the poetic potential of painting through meditative manipulation of a single image, suggesting that transcending the chaos is all in how you look at it. Raihl’s carefully arranged “barbells, soiled gym towels, donuts, and dog bowls” seem both a clever and enigmatic way to conjure the absurd aspect of exercise.

Cassie Raihl, Courtesy Harbor

Cassie Raihl, Courtesy Harbor

“Residual Volume” will be on view at Harbor (http://harborbk.com/) through April 7th.