Appetite for Controlled Destruction

Banks Violette's show at Gladstone gallery is a controlled chaos, just like the death metal music that inspires this artist. White lights, black metal plates, shiny aluminum, and smashed mirrors are the source materials for a number of Violette's sculptures. In one assemblage, javelin fluorescent lights are collapsed on the floor among a tangle of black cords. On a series of shattered mirrors, condensation drips down the glass. On another work, dry-ice smoke issues out from underneath a tin wall, just like a rock concert. Despite the bent toward destruction, there's nothing edgy or threatening about these pieces. However, that's not to say, your eye won't dig following all the lines and contours of these works. (Images via Gladstone gallery)