From neck tattoos and bejeweled teenagers on the street to Damien Hirst and the studios of San Francisco graduate students, diamonds are everywhere. It's uncertain whether the nearly ubiquitous shape is flooding contemporary art and popular culture because of its and aesthetic qualities, religious and mystical implications, or simply that our culture has brainwashed women to love and cherish this rock above all other gems, (After all, a diamond is forever). But this question was in the front of mind for me when viewing Hilary Pecis and Elise Mallouk's work invoking this trend at Triple Base Gallery.

Untitled (Spring Series #4), 2009; ink, collage and acrylic on panel; 11 x 14 in.

Pecis constructs collages of seemingly perilous imaginary landscapes, with layers of diamonds, towers of beads, lipstick tubes as buildings, and bright ribbons fluttering in and out of the scenes. Hers are post-apocalyptic vistas: fantastical, colorful, seductive, and yet suggestive of our culture's problem with over-consumption. Working with found images, Pecis forms scenes in which the evidence of overabundance is magnified and regurgitated. Not only do these landscapes involve the remnants of our post-modern self, but also the replication is sited as exponential growth without control. As others have done, Pecis points to the burden we are putting upon our planet and upon ourselves. Some of the works reference outer space, as if the detritus of our planet has piled up beyond the atmosphere and is floating uncontrollably into the next realm.

Untitled (Spring Series #6), 2009; acrylic on panel; 24 x 24 in.

Three paintings of diamonds are installed in a seemingly haphazard fashion. Untitled (Spring Series #5), is mounted to the underside of the gallery's slanted roof--painted bright pink for the exhibition--while another is placed on the inside of the storefront window. Untitled (Spring Series #6)--placed high above the rest of the work-- nevertheless stands out formally and compositionally. Although simply constructed, the palette and pattern conjure the feeling of staring into a beautiful diamond. I was intrigued by these pieces and their unorthodox installation, curious to know if they were studies or a new direction for the artist. Unfortunately, because of their placement, the collaged landscapes overpower the paintings.

Intricacies of Phantom Content, 2009; installation view.

Pecis sites influences such as Jim Drain and Bjorn Copeland, as their aesthetic sensibilites of repeating forms and intense color schemes are very similar to her own. With this in mind, I left the exhibition yearning for something more than just two-dimensional images on the walls. I wanted Pecis to venture into the actual construction of these landscapes, perhaps as a somewhat messier version of Jim Drain's sculptures. If Pecis wants to invoke the feeling of these landscapes, I implore her to build them. Perhaps the actual construction of these landscapes would push these ideas further, letting the viewer step into her imagined reality rather than view it from the outside.

Continuing through the exhibition is almost like foraying into uncharted territory. Climbing down a ladder labeled "enter at your own risk" one descends into a dingy basement where projections of falling diamonds surround the viewer. Elise Mallouk uses this repeated projection to connect ideas of desire, value, and art. A takeaway edition is placed in the center of the room, reiterating the idea of the falling diamond. With each takeaway, the diamond moves further down the paper. Although a beautiful illustration, the entire installation seems dramatic. Although edging towards the spectacular, in the end, it falls a bit short and does not critically address the ideas of desire, value, and art.

Although Pecis and Mallouk comment on the diamond's prevalence and desirability, I was not convinced that they have broken new ground, and left wanting more from their investigations. The diamond is an endlessly reinvented symbol, not only in our age of consumption, and I wanted their work to move past what we already know.

Intricacies of Phantom Content is on view at Triple Base Gallery through July 26, 2009.