San Francisco Examiner, June 12, 2000
"Artists Who Transcend Pop" by David Bonetti

The Pop sensibility reigns at Refusalon, 20 Hawthorne Lane, in the two person show featuring Didi Dunphy and Cheryl Meeker that continues through June 30. But both artists are interested in more than cheery colors and popular culture.

Dunphy, a former San Franciscan who lives in Athens, GA., has a long history of slyly infusing formalism, the practice of addressing only the elements of the art object that define its nature, with pop content—for instance, fabricating awnings from canvases that could pass as Kenneth Noland stripe paintings. She continues her witty reworking of recent art history here. Her two wall reliefs are brilliant works of design that would make great backdrops for a party of martini-swilling supermodels. Each, "Modern Conveninece" is made from round, naugahyde-upholstered cushions, with a single centered button, arranged in grids. (The 36 unit piece is a composition of 3 by 12 foot; the 28 unit piece is a 4 by 7.) The reliefs are reminiscent of that icon of '50s design, George Nelson's "Marshmallow Chair," and by referencing design rather that "high art," Dunphy has invaded the turf previously colonized by L.A. artists Jorge Pardo and, especially, Jim Isermann.

But Dunphy has more up her sleeve. The cushions' vibrant colors have been appropriated from color charts of the home furnishing collections of Laura Ashley and Ralph Lauren. Mixed up. The nostalgic Brit and the stylistically reactionary New Yorker are strangely compatable.

Dunphy has also made a series of small wall pieces that feature embroidered abstractions based on Josef Albers "Homage to the Square" paintings. Fiber art was the medium Albers' wife, Anni, practiced, and since weaving is traditionally a woman's art, she has ever gotten her due.