At this very moment, Vermeer may be spinning like a lathe in his grave. Or, just maybe, he’s executing a slow, pleasurable shimmy. In either case, the proximate cause would be Walk-In Pantry, an installation at Fridman Gallery by the artist Summer Wheat.
Inspired by Vermeer’s “The Milkmaid” (c. 1657–58), Wheat has artfully transformed the gallery space, reimagining it as a reflection of the titular milkmaid’s own pantry world. She has accordingly painted the walls to suggest a dark, Egyptian mausoleum, placed colorful transparencies — reminiscent of medieval stained glass — in the gallery windows, and covered part of the floor with “paint-rugs” inscribed with ingredients for dishes like “gau chau gau dumplins.” Are you following? Well, to fully understand the Vermeer connection, gallerygoers will have to linger a bit, and absorb in turn each element of this exuberant, free-wheeling installation. Once the multilayered concept sinks in, it all makes sense, in a circuitous way.