The stars are aligning tonight for the opening of a solo exhibition tonight at LMAKprojects presenting three series of recent works by Penelope Umbrico: Broken Sets (eBay), 2009- 2010, Zenith Replacement Parts, 2009, and Desk Trajectories (As Is), 2010. Penelope, ever using the Internet as source material for culling images and observing the behavior of our "technologically obsessed society," layers, accumulates, maniuplates and extracts images that reflect taxonomies of both ideas and objects that are omnipresent on the web.

Broken Sets (eBay) AD6D264E-3D49-42D8-9775-27293A37C401, 2008 by Penelope Umbrico

We first saw such taxonomies in her two editions on 20x200, 87 Suns From Flickr - 29 Visible and 79 Moons From Flickr - 51 Visible, which superimpose the images that comprise the ideas of "sunset" and "moonrise" as documented by millions of people around the world on popular image-sharing sites like Flickr. Penelope collects and then curates them into a surreal and somewhat psychedelic images, that are an abstraction based on the real.

From the press release:

Broken Sets (eBay) are images of the screens cropped from pictures of broken LCD TVs Umbrico found on eBay.com, where they are sold for parts. The sellers turn on the TVs while photographing them so that potential buyers can see that the electronics behind the screens work. Umbrico became interested in the incidental abstract beauty of the screens because they are derived from the breakdown and failure of their own promising technology...

Zenith Replacement Parts are photographs, also taken from eBay, of dusty cardboard boxes containing Zenith replacement parts. What intrigued Umbrico about these images was the seller's belief in the photograph - that a picture of the box storing the part would lend more veracity to the objects inside, than to simply list the parts numbers.

The third part of the show, Desk Trajectories (As Is), reflects on how "unattainable lifestyles are marketed, lusted after, and devoured by consumers," only to later become objects that exist on Craigslist and eBay—used, unwanted and devalued because they are now simply things taking up space.

Desk Trajectories (As Is and Everything must go 20 Desks), 2010 by Penelope Umbrico

In addition to the opening tonight, Penelope will be at LMAK this Sunday, May 16th to talk about her work during the gallery walk led by JBP's Philae Knight from 2-5 p.m. For more info and to RSVP, click here.

As Is
Penelope Umbrico
LMAKprojects
139 Eldridge Street
New York, NY 10002
Opening reception: Tonight, May 13, 6-9 p.m.
On view through June 20, 2010