Purgatory, 2005; wood, glass, Fiberglas, paint, gold and silver leaf; 19 ½ x 47 x 24 in.

Alison McLennan makes sculpture in the form of furniture. Like Scott Burton's chairs, McLennan's tables, cabinets, and lamps can serve a utilitarian purpose. In this exhibition of pieces completed over the past several years, many works suggest a humorous, Pop-infused reading. Purgatory (2005) is a glass-topped table, the base of which consists of a weighty-looking pyramid on its side, seemingly sticking its pointy-head so firmly into an organic comma-shape that the skin of the latter has been pierced, creasing as it is pushed inwards. This effect is achieved through carving and the skillful application of Fiberglas on wood. Like many of the furniture-based objects created by LA artist Robert Therrien, our ability to get McLennan's visual joke--both psychically and somatically--depends on how well it is done, but only as a point of departure. Rather than being about skill, the piece is driven by its initiating concept.

Sometimes, the functional aspect of her work is all but hidden. Wall-hung jewelry cabinets initially present themselves as (merely) aesthetic objects, each consisting of a framed, high relief representation of a vastly enlarged beetle carapace or a stylized cocoon. (She studied entomology in college and still retains a fascination with the complexity and beauty of insects.) But these insect-inspired forms can be opened with a tiny key, revealing an exquisitely fitted interior, replete with delicate drawers and sets of hooks.

Tower-like table lamps incorporate translucent versions of McLennan's photographs of Jingletown, her Oakland neighborhood. The focus in these images is on pattern and unexpected conjunctions of shapes and textures, suggesting that the connecting thread between all the works in this show is McLennan's gift for attentive and detailed observation.

Alison McLennan's work was on view at Artworks Downtown in San Rafael through September 28, 2009.