The symbolism of fire is rich and contradictory. It evokes the power of the gods and the ingenuity of humankind, the elemental forces of creation and destruction, witches and saints, purity and passion. Fire -- coolly observed and bluntly represented -- is the theme of an exhibition of new work by Teresita Fernández now up at the Fabric Workshop.

Over the past decade, Fernández (a recently named MacArthur Fellow who was born in Miami and currently lives in Brooklyn) has become well known for her sculptural installations. Fernández's work explores the perception of natural phenomena through unorthodox applications of ordinary and industrial materials. Made from a wide range of materials, including fabric, mirrors, beads, aluminum, fiberglass and cast acrylic, her work elegantly combines elements of color field painting, minimalist sculpture, interior architecture and garden design. Light is always important and many pieces seem illuminated from within. Her sculptural installations are refined, graceful and empty -- offering, paradoxically, a perfect stage on which to meditate on nothingness or to superimpose dialectical arguments, scenes from grand opera or dramas from everyday life.

The exhibition at the Fabric Workshop includes a set of nine small mixed-media works on paper and two sculptures. Fernández spent two years developing the largest sculpture, Fire, in collaboration with Mary Anne Friel and several other artists at the Workshop. Fernández was inspired by the amorphous shape of fire, its constant movement and continually changing colors, and set out to replicate these visual qualities in common industrial materials. The project went through a long development stage in which the collaborators investigated different methods of creating the illusion of fire. Early experiments included combinations of Plexiglas rods, nylon yarn, cast resin and acrylic but, according to Friel, these materials had a disappointingly heavy feel. Finally Fernández found a material that she felt she could use during a visit to the Scalamandré textile mill in Queens. She saw looms threaded with fine silk thread and recognized their potential for creating a field of translucent glowing light.

Fire is made up of two concentric rings of vertically oriented silk fibers hand-dyed wonderful hues of cherry red, orange, ochre, lemon yellow and cream to give the illusion of fire. The silk is stretched taut between two large metal rings and, at about 8 feet tall and 11 feet in diameter, it commands the space around it. The double layer of threads creates a flickering effect as the viewer circumambulates the artwork. As one circles the interior space that cannot be entered, legends and myths about the power of fire rings naturally come to mind. I thought about the sacred ground within the ring of a solstice fire and the sleeping figure of Brünnhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen, who was surrounded by a ring of fire that protected her from all but the very bravest of men. Fernández's piece synthesizes the clean design and space-age materials of modern manufacturing with the deeply emotional and primordial symbolism of fire.

Farther back in the room, we come across Eruption (small), a smaller sculpture. Like a rug or a minimalist sculpture, the piece sits humbly on the floor, with no pedestal or base. The pond-shaped sculpture is made of aluminum, glass beads, wood and vinyl and is only about 4 inches tall and 4 by 8 feet around. The colors are muted and the glossiness of the horizontal plane of beads is subdued by layers of milky vinyl. Because of its size and location the sculpture is unfortunately somewhat upstaged by Fire. Eruption (small) appears introverted, stiff and ready to retract into itself, especially when contrasted with the extroverted radiance of Fire. Still, the piece hints at a subtle inner world, and I imagine its latent appeal could be drawn out in a more sensitive installation.

On the gallery walls, Fernández has included a series of works on gray and rose-colored paper that further explore her ideas about the form and substance of fire. They are full of rings, clusters and bands of fire in stylized forms made from cut and layered red, orange and yellow paper, and flecked with dots of dry pigment. Fernández made these small paper pieces after completing Fire. She is planning to continue working on the theme of fire and has remarked, "Just because you finish one piece doesn't mean the idea is gone." Fernández's elegant sculptural spaces continue to develop, offering a vision of optimism and timelessness, and I can't wait to see how she will translate the messier world of embers, sparks, flames, smoke, molten substances and ashes mapped out in these sketches into future sculptural works. (s_hagen@citypaper.net)

Teresita Fernández

Through Nov. 12, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, 1315 Cherry St., fifth and sixth floors, 215-568-1111