Suspending the administrative and bodily powers of fences and safety cones, Fin Simonetti’s sculpture exhibition, “Hardening,” at Matthew Brown quizzes viewers to ponder, “Am I safe, am I scared, or am I in love?” Perhaps it’s a bit of all three. The gallery features a black steel fencing switchbacking through the space, adorned with life-sized, chrome-coated, hand-carved ceramic and concrete rabbits. They are devoured yet love-locked to the stand-alone railings or scattered across the floor. The installation is bookended with black and orange marble, meticulously carved safety cones that also bear delicate depictions of feathered friends and foes. Simonetti’s creation borrows elements from protective and peace-bearing symbols, ranging from gothic spires and aviary claws to doves and love-locks, turning the fundamental human need for safety into a counterintuitive process. From a distance, Simonetti’s fence eases the immediate urgency into dissenting into worry, suggesting that perhaps these fixtures are meant for us. Yet, a closer look at Simonetti’s renderings of the mutilated locks compels the audience to reconsider the installation. At play within the exhibition is another uneasy question: Should we be uncertain of our invitation? To engage with Simonetti’s installation, I am prompted to recollect the rules governing my fragile physicality and decide where I wish to position myself within her resignation of symbols.

Matthew Brown
712 N. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA

On view through January 13, 2024