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“CultureScape” might have something to do with culture, landscape, or space. From the show’s tedious press release, it’s unclear—the description is stuffed with as many buzzwords as a Whitney Biennial wall text. To put it simply, “CultureScape,” curated by Isabel Manalo, contains the evocative work of five women artists. Elise Richman’s small paintings pop with stalagmites of multicolored paint that suggest topographical island views or maps of desertification or population density. The spaces in Bridget Sue Lambert’s voyeuristic, invasive photographs are so cluttered and copiously detailed, it takes a minute to realize that they portray only dollhouses—and sometimes, the dolls are caught copulating. Lisa Blas’ understated work is dominated by Matisse-like collages on music paper, but her “Autosculptures” are the most engaging; while they appear to be little more than scans of crumpled paper, their simple forms posses the grace of origami without the need of swans.
The exhibition is on view 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays to July 30 at Addison/Ripley Fine Art, 1670 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Free.