Mona Hatoum

On view at Galerie Chantal Crousel is an exhibition of work by Mona Hatoum, her first show in Paris in 13 years. The exhibition consists of six sculptural works and several works on paper that surround subjects of domesticity, security, warmth and opposing forces such as war, fighting, harshness, which are themes that typically surround her work. The work is good and not overly dramatic, which is an occasional tendancy in her work (in my opinion). Upon entering the gallery the first piece is a beautifuly display of hand-blown colored glass objects that on closer inspection are seen to be replicas of hand grenades. Another favorite is Misbah, a hanging metal latern typical of Moroccan or Mexican artisans with cutouts, but in lieu of the usual circles and squares, here are silhouettes of soliders holding machine guns. The room is darkend and a light from within the latern casts shadows of these figures around the space. The exhibition is up thru March 1st. Galerie Chantal Crousel,10, rue Charlot. www.crousel.com.