Carl Hammer Gallery

Mary Lou Zelazny revisits Carl Hammer Gallery in her third solo appearance, dramatically revitalizing her exploration of the human condition via her seamless use of pulp/pop image collage techniques with enhanced and  meticulously developed backdrops and imagistic props.   Derived from nearly some twenty-five years spent  interpreting the sensuality of the human body in landscapes both personal and impersonal, Zelazny, more than ever, combines the gestural fluidity of her painting with the slickness of the clipped photo image creating a successful hybrid of form which is both expressive and visually stunning.

The Cake Lady Returns' primary subjects are nearly always females posturing  ambiguously, almost supernaturally, standing powerfully yet motherly, softening and juxtaposing  any context in which we see them.  All the while that the focus seems to lead us in the direction of rethinking the clichés of romance, surrealism and pictorialism; Zelazny surreptitiously reveals herself afresh through a  barrage of new and seemingly disparate images.  Great satisfaction is derived in viewing these works when the perfect, unexpected visual element or lost piece of the puzzle is found and made to be a part of the greater whole.  From the tension and movement of all of the elements, both visual and thematic, and in the complexity of their reassembly, we become enlightened by a realization of the artist's vision and passion.