artPark

Richmond's Arts in the Park

Sunday was a gorgeous spring day, and since Rob and I have downsized our athletics from three sports (biking, running and swimming) to one (swimming), we found ourselves with a little extra free time during the weekend. So, we headed for Richmond to take in the Arts in the Park Festival. Our main goal was to check in with Foust whose work we represent and will take with us to the Affordable Art Fair in NYC this June. It is always such a pleasure to see her work and talk art. And here’s a little scoop: Buy now, because when the wider world (i.e. NYC) sees her linocuts, prices will rise accordingly!

In between visits with Foust at her booth, Rob and I walked around to check out the art and see if we wanted to buy anything for ourselves. These fairs are always a mixed bag, and this one was no exception. I’ll start with the bad, because that is just how I am.

First, too much travel photography. Yes, you took pictures on your vacation to Tuscany and other exotic lands. Yes, they are nice and colorful. But they are not art. Sorry. Second, if you are going to show paintings, paint well. Respect the craft. Third, to be interesting, jewelry shouldn’t just be a bunch of beads a fifth grader could string together. Fourth, I don’t want to see your signature the first time I look at your work. It should not be that big. One woman even altered the placement of her signature to integrate it into each painting. No, no, no. Let the work speak. Fifth, a woman describing her husband’s artwork tried to make giclees sound like the original egg tempera paintings. We know egg tempera – it’s not a medium that makes multiples possible. Turns out the works being sold were digital prints of scanned images. Her unwillingness to call them digital reproductions bordered on fraud. They were reasonably priced and lovely, but they were simply photocopies of egg tempera paintings. Fine and fair, just don’t say the medium was egg tempera. The medium was a computer. (I’m no snob, at least not completely; we bought a giclee from a different artist. So there. But I knew what it was. No dissembling.)

Finally, a note to the organizers: Show more craft. Don’t fill the booths with bad, repetitive paintings and photographs. It dulls the senses. There was some nice clay work, but not quite nice enough to buy. And, I was surprised to see very little wood - only a couple of turners and maybe three people showing quality furniture.

Since we are the sellers of art in our day jobs, it is always good to see things from a buyer’s perspective. It’s a good reminder that to inspire you to make a purchase, a work must be high quality, presented well and stand out from the rest. A number of things did, and we went home with three of them. This is what came home with us:

Richmond artist Keith M. Ramsey. Wow. Young, talented, and an Edward Hopper fan to boot. Enough said. Look for yourself. We bought a small acrylic painting that feels a little like this one from his web site. Keith is a good colorist and has a great sensibility. Keith also has a lot to say through his art; he takes himself seriously; and he is one to watch.

Maryland artist Curtis Woody. Just look at this…  I love hands. This one made me tear up. Had to buy it. This is the giclee we bought. It’s not an "original", which I’m slightly embarrassed about, but until we get the gallery completely off the ground, we’ll be hard pressed to buy originals from artists as well known as Curtis. We’d love to figure out a way to show his work one day – maybe as part of a group show.

Richmond artist Kim Young creates some terrific jewelry and wall assemblages. Very folk art feeling. I am a new fan and customer. Kim works a lot with found objects and old globes which she cuts and refashions into pins and earrings. I hadn’t seen affordable work like it before which is saying a lot. And, as it turns out, she is friends with Foust. Small world!

We also spent a good amount of time looking through the booth of Eli Thompson. He does cityscape  etchings. Besides loving etchings, Eli’s quality stood out. They require talent and commitment. Eli had that. Although we didn’t pull the trigger and buy one, we’ll keep an eye on his work.

With all that said, I do believe we represent the best artists in the world at Migration. Seriously. But it is always good to look and acquire, if not originals, at least reminders in some form of what touched you on that day.

Seiz, Wade and Dunnan @ UVa Off-Grounds Gallery

This is the fourth report from a series regarding the University of Virginia studio art student exhibits at the Off-Grounds Gallery.

Yet another exhibition of the University of Virginia's 4th year (i.e. senior) studio art students' work was up last week. I dropped in on it Friday evening. Again, I got there as the final set-up of tables, drinks and food for the reception was taking place. I muscled through the noise and general chaos and gave a good look at the work of Alyson Seiz, Emily Wade and Calvine Dunnan.

Alyson Seiz - Beauty and the Blonde

Oh, goodness. Where do I start? My mind is flooded with all the ridiculous blonde jokes we have all suffered through over and over. I can't see straight. Maybe reading Ms. Seiz's artist statement will help…

I have a strange relationship with the culture of which I am part. Being a blonde suburbanite was a context I lightheartedly enjoyed growing up, but as I journeyed further into the world of academia, I began to question the culture that shaped who I am. It is a heavily stereotyped group, sometimes desirable but other times scoffed at for being phony, nondescript, material or mainstream. My work reflects my interest in the perception of this group, by itself and by others. Painting has provided a contemplative forum for me to investigate the subtext involved with blondeness and the women who claim to it. I do not praise it, nor do I reduce it. I am not exempt from this group because I am an artist, nor do I want to be. The exploration of this misrepresented margin of people captivates me, as I hope it does my viewers.

Okay. You're blonde. Your hair color shaped who you were as a youngster. You believe blondes are stereotyped. And, through your art you want to break that cycle.

Sorry. Nope. I don't get it.

I read the title of the show, "Beauty and the Blonde", as blondeness being the Beast amongst the Beauty? Made me want to see some real tortured images.  Seiz’s statement further labels blondes a "misrepresented margin of people" like they are lepers or something. Wow.  Big issues.  But, I didn’t see it in the paintings.

What I expected to see is the real person behind the pain of all the blonde jokes and negative stereotypes. These are real people; not the Paris Hiltons we see splashed throughout the headlines. It should be about what it means to be blonde behind closed doors. How one suffers and struggles by being blonde. Instead, through Seiz's work titled "Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice", "Bride-To-Be", "The Weigh-In" and "Preference", I saw the struggles that everyone deals with concerning big issues such as self image, entering adulthood, and societal pressures. Everyone deals with this: blonde brunettes, women, men…

Siez states that her paintings provide "a contemplative forum for me to investigate the subtext involved with blondeness and the women who claim to it." Instead, I see a young woman who clings to it.

What I did get from Seiz's paintings was a high degree of skill in her craft. At no time did I ever have to look beyond the technique of her painting style in order to get the message. Seiz takes on and conquers the challenge of rendering mirrored images, severely foreshortened figures and raking light with great aplomb. She has proven her skill as a painter, but now we need to work on the message.

One last issue I have with the presentation of Ms. Seiz's paintings: Included on the one page artist statement was a price list of her work. Not a problem and frequently done. However, at the bottom of her price list she says, "all work half off for friends and family." Say what!?!?! Either Ms. Seiz has a lot of friends and family, or she never intends to sell to any one other than her friends or family. I'm not saying don't give friends and family a discount; rather don't ever spell out that fact on your price list.

Emily Wade - Out of the Indigo: Healing Through Art

Ms. Wade (not a blonde) suffers in a different way than Ms. Seiz. Wade struggles with chronic pain in her hands and arms which has challenged her ability to create. In order to circumvent the pain that wielding a brush causes her, Wade has found the use of watercolors on yupo as a bearable medium to work with. Already attracted to her deep blue loosely handled images, I further cheered her use of yupo. (I have written in the past about one of my favorite artists, Randall Tipton, and his magical watercolors on yupo. Read the article here.) By abandoning a precisely held brush and beng able to push the water based pigments across the plasticized paper, Wade creates very fluid, expressive and beautiful images.

Wade says she uses both indigo and Payne’s grey to "…convey sadness and pain in my own work. By painting with these colors, I discovered that they possess an intense beauty that I cannot move away from." The technique, imagery and use of color have converged for Wade to make a collection of lasting and moving images. All are good choices.

Wade also included a painting of her hands in the exhibit titled "As They Are." This was the one piece that was executed on paper and not yupo. Artists’ rendering of hands is both a rite of passage and very intriguing. Hands are their tools of the trade. Their livelihood. Getting in touch with their own hands through their own imagery is a classic art school project. In "As They Are" Wade confronts her hands... her tools... and the source of her pain. Strangely, she chooses to render them in precise and delicate brushstrokes required by the application of watercolors on paper. I can only imagine the grimaces on her face as she completed this particular painting.

Calvine Dunnan - Postcards, 1947-1963

Dunnan transforms old postcard pictures to lithograph prints. All are landscapes – coastal scenes, rivers, canyons, bridges, etc. In this, he displays an excellent body of prints. Lovely work. However, I think Dunnan misses the mark he sets out to hit. Dunnan’s artist statement refers to the nostalgia of not just the landscape images of the past caught on the decades old postcards, but also the messages found on those cards – memories of long past family vacations. The breakdown of Dunnan's lithographs to three (sometimes four) colors and simplifying the lines and images makes for a lovely design, but striking the nostalgic chord in my mind is only present in the titles listed on the gallery price list.

For young artists, I generally discourage the use of the written word on their art. I prefer the image to tell me what is being said. Let me figure it out through your imagery, design and choice of colors. Here, however, it’s the text found on these 50 and 60 year old postcards that is fascinating… and truly nostalgic. Dunnan’s prints present an excellent situation to add the written snippets of these quaint travel journals. Throw me back to the 50s when exploring the country from the backseat of the family station wagon was the norm.

For the exhibit, Dunnan included a book of the actual postcards from which he drew his inspiration: Pictures on one side and the handwritten message on the back. Finding myself more interested in reading the postcards than looking at the art simply confirmed my thoughts about Dunnan’s body of work. Regardless, I did find Dunnan’s prints to be well executed and very pleasing.

Kempson, Kleberg & Rivera-Morales @ UVa Off-Grounds Gallery

This is the third report from a continued series regarding the University of Virginia studio art student exhibits at the Off-Grounds Gallery during the months of April and May.

Last week, a Distinguished Major Studio Art Exhibition at Off-Grounds Gallery featured Emily S. Kempson, Matt Kleberg and Camila M. Rivera-Morales. I dropped in prior to the Friday evening reception and checked out what was hanging.

Emily S. Kempson – Things Worth Sharing

Regarding Emily Kempson’s paintings, I really only have a couple of things to say.  First and foremost, I recommend that Ms. Kempson remember to respect the viewer.  This has little to do with her actual artwork.  Rather, I am focusing on the fact she spelled out (literally) what she intends to make us see and feel.  Part of her display was a series of four large scale painting titled, as a group, across the top "Four Responses to an Offense".  They also included individual subtitles: "Self Blame," "Justice," "Mercy" and "Revenge".  Yes, spelled out in big black letters under each painting were these words.  Thanks, Emily, I got it.  Believe me, I was able to see that in each respective painting… without the words.  In the future, remember, the moment you hang your work publicly, it is more about the viewer than it is about you.  Let us gratify ourselves by allowing us to figure it out.  It is far more powerful to show and not tell.

One of the real treasures of art is that a single piece can be and/or mean different things for different people.  When a piece is labeled with a distinct emotion, the viewer is robbed of his or her own interpretation.  Trust that the work says what you want it to say, but also trust the viewer will see it for himself.

About the artwork: Kempson focuses primarily on the human figure (strangely, the image she chose for the show card – although her best – was very much unlike all the others she hung).  Pleasant structure in each piece, but nothing over the top.  She uses dynamic modeling and plenty of symbols to tell her story.  Clearly, a lot of thought and emotion went into the creation of each piece.

Matt Kleberg – And Also With You

More portraits this week!  This time they were small.  Kleberg executes his paintings with a nice style and top-rate craftsmanship.  I particularly liked the flat, angular brushstrokes which add to the sense of artistic drama.  However, I’m not sure if Kleberg’s strong color palette lends itself to each portrait.  Is color used simply for the sake of using it, or as a design element, or (like the Fauvists) is it used to convey a sense of emotion?  If color is used to convey emotion, its success will have to be determined by his individual sitters.  Portraiture tends to be such a personal genre – made even more so by the intimate scale of many of Kleberg’s paintings.  Kleberg admits to this in his written statement:

As a painter, I look to portraiture as one way to honor relationships that teach me, challenge me, and refresh me…   [M]y desire is to use color and mark making to illustrate the richness of each subject’s identity, while the smaller scale of many of the works welcomes close inspection.

Due to the kaleidoscopic use of color, my first reaction was to compare it all to Matisse’s 1905 portrait of his wife titled  "The Green Line" (pictured right).  With this in mind, Kleberg’s portraits were derivative.  But I shook that.  After looking a bit longer at the collection, they did become more personal.  Tenderness and a genuine sense of caring by the artist shone through.  I credit Kleberg’s painterly technique for this.

The good news is that Kleberg’s portraits were not hung with last week’s exhibit of James Dean Erickson’s oversized portraits on cardboard.  A comparison would have been unavoidable and unfair to both artists.

Camila M. Rivera-Morales – I’m So (Maybe) Sorry

Camila Rivera Morales exhibited two different bodies of work in the show.  One, her aluminum lithographs (printed on a waxed paper, I believe), were particular strong abstracts.  Primarily monochromatic, they felt like highly refined yet dreamy Rorschach ink blots.  After giving up trying to find any identifiable images caught in the layers, I was able to relax and simply enjoy the lightness and balance of each piece.

Rivera-Morales also exhibited handmade books.  First were small story books. They were cute and engaging, but, ultimately, they did not hold my attention for more than the first couple of minutes (alas, I should blame myself for that).  The other book exhibited was much more substantial.  A small label implored the viewer to take the time and read the whole thing.  Since I had a chunk of time and found the physical texture of the cover and pages pleasing in my hands, I gave it a whirl.  I got through the forward and well into the following pages.  Despite claiming that she is no journal writer rather a "list maker," I found her lists to be daily journals – plain and simple. Standard rants and thoughts of a college student. I put the book down.

Her statement poses some moderately simple questions: 

Can you react to something personal in an impersonal setting?... Can you and I relate here?... Is this about me or about you?

From my experiences, I can safely say, absolutely, I often react to something personal in an impersonal setting.  And, yes, we should be able to relate with one another through your art.  But, Cami, your journal is so clearly about you and not me (or any one else).  There is no doubt in my mind that some day your journal will have a tremendous amount of value.  To whom… I don’t know.

After leaving the exhibit, I felt like I had been beaten over the head.  Too much was spelled out (literally) leaving very little to discover or appreciate on my own. A little subtlety would have gone a long way.

What Whitney says - JOHN GRANT

Whitney Strickler is Migration’s current intern. She is a 4^th year art history student at the University of Virginia. To give you a refreshing voice on this blog, Laura and I asked Whitney to review some shows currently up in Charlottesville. Many thanks to Whitney, for these thoughtful reviews.

John Grant - Along the Garden Path @ McGuffey Art Center

After seeing a sampling of John Grant’s recent works at Migration’s photography invitational this past winter, it was interesting to see a large collection of his photos of flowers, fruits and vegetables on display at the McGuffey Art Center. Grant has been experimenting with materials to print his digital photographs on, and I am particularly intrigued by those he prints on sheets of aluminum. One image at the McGuffey exhibit, "Radishes", reflects light as you move past it giving the red color of the vegetables tonal variation and a 3D quality that is not found in the photos printed on paper. I know it is an extremely difficult medium to print on but the effect created by the metal on the image is fascinating. The canvas material also provides a unique perspective on the photographic subjects; the flowers in these works have a softness and serenity that is lost in the sharpness of the metal works. Each medium contributes to the photograph with its own distinctive qualities.

One piece in particular caught my eye; it is entitled "Mystical Rose" and shows a single rose encased in a faint glass bulb. The image is reminiscent to me of the rose from "Beauty and the Beast." The faint outline of the bulb around the flower gives it the sense of being untouchable, preserved in timeless beauty. The flower shows minor flaws: a slender tear in one petal, a few petals have begun to slightly droop at the edges. The rose represents flawed beauty but its imperfections make it only more mystical and unattainable to the viewer. Grant’s simple, direct, and organic approach to photography provides insight into the beauty available for viewing everyday ‘along the garden path.’

What Whitney says - ROB TARBELL

Whitney Strickler is Migration’s current intern. She is a 4^th year art history student at the University of Virginia. Laura and I have asked Whitney to review some shows currently up in Charlottesville (keeps you from having to read my yammering). Many thanks to Whitney, for these thoughtful reviews.

Rob Tarbell - The Smokes @ Les Yeux de Monde

Rob Tarbell’s works are created with a process involving smoke. He burns sentimental things such as photographs using the smoke to create the images. He claims the burning of these types of objects removes their emotional burden. His artist statement says that he likes to use smoke because it makes both good and bad marks. An example he gives of the negative effects of smoke is the damage it did to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel; but when smoke is controlled and given a new purpose it can be good. This series portrays performing animals: horses, dogs, elephants, zebras, and bears. Tarbell likens the use of smoke to the choice of using performing animals in that "something that once had a practical or natural use is removed from that environment at the expense of its original purpose. Transforming its original purpose, transforming it and replacing it in the form of entertainment art." In the way that an animal is taken out of its natural habitat and trained to jump through hoops or balance on platforms, smoke is removed from its destructive purpose in nature and controlled by the artist to create a new image.

At first I thought the works were charcoal on paper, when I read the medium was actually smoke I found the works slightly more intriguing. One picture in particular of a horse caught my eye. The pattern the smoke had left on the paper makes the horse look ghost-like. The wispy smoke lines trail off the horse’s body and its white eyes all add to the perception that the dark horse is charging out of the white expanse directly towards you. This piece, being one of the few that was framed, was enhanced by the glass in front of it because the light of the gallery shining on the glass gave the white paper a glow adding to the eeriness of the "ghost horse." I don’t think this was necessarily the artist’s intention, but, for me, the effect gave the piece life and movement. Overall, I found the exhibition very interesting though it may be more beneficial to the viewer to understand the artist’s methods and goals before seeing the works… Tarbell’s works require a deep contemplation to understand the artist’s agenda.

Costello, Erickson & Wells @ Off-Grounds Gallery

This is the second report from a continued series regarding the University of Virginia studio art student exhibits at the Off-Grounds Gallery during the months of April and May.

Last Friday, I dropped by the Off-Grounds Gallery to catch the Distinguished Major Thesis Exhibition titled Trying, Despite. It featured the work of James Dean Erickson, Jesse Wells, Patrick Costello and Andrew Mausert-Mooney. Although the gallery was closed at the time, I was lucky enough to have been there when the students were critiquing. I give a special thanks to Howard Singerman, associate professor in UVa's Art Department (20^th century art and theory), for letting me in despite the gallery being closed.

James Dean Erickson

Entering the gallery, I was greeted by a collection of 6 to 9 foot tall portraits. Frontal staring faces. Confrontational in a Chuck Close manner (note: I’m a crazy Chuck Close fan). The emotions were neutral but Erickson's technique is expressive. Each piece was done on sheet(s) of cardboard. Acrylics, spray paints, crayon and charcoals are used to scratch out the images with dynamic and loose gestures. A couple of the faces are void of color which simply shows off Erickson's superlative drawing skills. The more powerful portraits were those filled with color.

Although no text was associated with the images, I found out the individuals used for the portraits are Charlottesville locals who are often found on the downtown streets. Although we have seen them before, we tend to looked right through them. Look past them. Avert our eyes when they approach. These are the people society overlooks and, sometimes, steps over. Now, in Erickson's portraits, there is no avoiding them. They stare directly at us - we stare back. We notice every wrinkle and crease etched in their hard-scrabble faces.  They are real. They are important. This is when artwork hanging in a gallery has social implications.

Even the use of a common cardboard is elemental in Erickson's art. What is generally considered utilitarian, Erickson alters its throwaway quality and elevates it to precious art. Kind of like he did with his subjects. Well done James, well done.

Jesse Wells

It took me a minute, but I ended up really liking Jesse Wells' paintings. Initially, I found them to be nice as they struck a few chords that are dear to my heart: the flattening of spaces, the use of negative space, and making unseen elements come to life. Specifically, I found Staring Contest to be the most powerful painting of the group. Good technical skills coupled with the inclusion of all that falls outside of the frame. What are these two starring at? Where are they? Reminded me of Michelangelo's David (bare with me… it's not as big of a stretch as you may think). David is not just a marble statue of a young man.  What you don't see - Goliath lurking in his presence - creates the real drama.

What ultimately pulled Wells' work together was the inclusion of four prints hung opposite the paintings. It suddenly worked for me - or my cup of coffee finally kicked in. I liked the quality of the printing technique/skill as well as the subject matter. Adults playing kids' games is an intriguing subject. Wells depicts old games such as Three Legged Race, Marco Polo, Double Dutch and I Spy. Turning back to the paintings, I saw games being played there too: a string and cup phone, staring contest, and thumb wrestling. These games develop relationships skills. They are games taught to us as children, but they have very adult implications.

Patrick Costello

Patrick Costello owes a lot to Jesse Wells. I trust they are good friends. I say this because without Wells' paintings and prints, Costello's monumental piece in the show falls flat. What we have is a gigantic sofa cushion fort built in the corner of the gallery. The kind we all built in the living room of our childhood homes. You remember. We pulled all the square paneled cushions off the couch and chairs and built a little-person sized house of cards. Costello does the same, but uses the cushions of about 50 couches. And instead of using an old afghan blanket as the roof, he stitched together yards of varying fabric remnants and strung it circus-tent style.

Alone, Costello's installation was forgettable, but paired with Wells' paintings of childhood games, the fort became a stronger entity and integral to show. Something was comforting about being able to step into the fort and backwards about 35 years for me. Made me smile.

Costello also hung a small series of prints. Nice etchings coupled with a continuation of his textile work. Again, I am a huge fan of etchings and the print making process. Costello also tugs on my desire for simplified renderings. But these prints did not move me – for no other reason than I just didn’t have a personal connection with them. Maybe more refined sewing would have generated a higher level of importance in these few pieces. As Tim Gunn might say, "Make it work, Patrick."

While I was in the gallery, Andrew Mausert-Mooney had a viewing of his film titled "Flok". I missed the viewing, but did eavesdrop on a portion of the subsequent discussion and critique. Not being a film guy, I left it all alone. But, I'm particularly happy to see that film (16mm) was included in the show and is fostered by the UVa Art Department. Keep it up guys.

Without a doubt, this exhibit was the best I have seen at Off-Grounds Gallery. Top flight work; thoughtful presentation; and thoroughly enjoyable. Too bad for us it was only up for 5 days.

What Whitney says - SANDOW BIRK

Whitney Strickler is Migration’s current intern. She is a 4^th year art history student at the University of Virginia. Laura and I have asked Whitney to review some shows currently up in Charlottesville (keeps you from having to read my yammering). Many thanks to Whitney, for these thoughtful reviews.

Sandow Birk - The Depravities of War @ 2^nd Street Gallery

Sandow Birk approaches the controversy of the Iraq war with wall sized prints made from woodcuts. The scenes have a cartoon-like feeling to them making them look like editorial cartoons cut from a newspaper and blown up to fill a wall. One of the first prints I came across was a scene of army recruiters signing up new recruits at a table with posted signs reading "Free College" and "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell" as temptations to young men wandering by. A line of soldiers prepare to leave corporate America which looms behind them; and men say goodbye to their parents and girlfriends. The scene portrays young men excited to be leaving home for new opportunities and experiences. Around the corner in the gallery was another woodcut titled "Repercussion" showing a line of men out the door of a building marked with a sign "Veteran Services." The men from the first scene had come home, but were not the same. Here they were shown in wheelchairs, on crutches, and with missing limbs. The army, so quick to recruit them, has left them desolate and broken, forced to wait in long lines for care from veteran services.

Birk attempts to address the problems of war by focusing on the current events in Iraq; each print is a snapshot, the U.S. Senate, Army training, the hanging of Saddam, etc. He aims to document the tragedies of war for future generations. His artist statement says the series displays his "continual, perpetual frustration with the very fact of this war." It also describes his goals to "make smart political art, and to make a work that lives beyond this war to speak to warfare and all wars." The pieces are certainly readable and it is not difficult to understand what the artist is attempting to convey to the public through these scenes but I did not find them as effective as they could have been. I found the motivation behind the series to be more fascinating than the works themselves.

More on Tate, Timmers and Janis

Here are some media mentions of our current sculptural glass exhibit featuring Tim Tate, Erwin Timmers and Michael Janis:

From The Hook, here.

From cvilleMUSE, here and here.

From Lenny Campello, here and here.

Reinhard, McCann and Katz @ UVa Off-Grounds Gallery

This is a report that will be part of a continued series regarding the University of Virginia studio art student exhibits at the Off-Grounds Gallery during the months of April and May.

I dropped by Off-Grounds Gallery on Saturday to catch the first of the final exhibits of 4^th and 5^th year student work. This show included the work of three 5^th year Aunspaugh Fellows: Adam Reinhard’s paintings, photographs by Libby McCann, and the collages and prints by Jessie Katz

ADAM REINHARD - Playing With Matches

Adam Reinhard takes on an ambitious subject matter: stripping children of their innocence in order to expose the effect adults' actions (and an adult world) have on them:

By projecting my scenarios onto the purity of children, I am trying to show what can happen when technology is abused and consumerism preoccupies our lives, without directly indicting the viewer.  In this way, my artwork serves as a mirror of sorts, but only insofar as I want my viewer to be aware of the world around them.

In his statement, I am glad to see Adam also admit to his reliance on images of consumerism and commercialism in the "despoilment of innocence." Unfortunately, it can easily get in the way of the overall image. It often appears there is more interest placed on the commercial logo than on the person depicted. Loose sharp brushstrokes used for facial features turn to precise thoughtful lines spelling corporate names and logos.

I am always a fan of an artist (in any 2 dimensional medium) who flattens their scenes. Pulling the background forward is an inherently modern element to the visual arts, but it’s not an easy trick to pull off well. I believe Adam gets it done. However, his flat spaces (the filler around his people) are often overweighted compared to the chopped brushstrokes used in his faces. An evening of technique would create a greater balance.

Adam captures the often undetectable dangers of playing games, or, more importantly, in role playing. He displays the potential harm of adult behavior through the actions of children. I found "Boredom" (pictured) sums up Adam’s premise well. Despite the vast availability of stimulating board games, today’s youth still cannot overcome TV’s mind numbing effect. Well done.

If Adam's exploration continues, I'll come back for more.

LIBBY McCANN - Conversation

Libby McCann photographs close-up studies of the face in black and white. High contrast lighting plays an important part in detailing the landscape of each individuals face. We are met eye-to-pore with the space between the upper lip and nose, the brow, an adams apple, and a cheekbone. The effect and consistency of the dramatic, raking light used gives the haunting essence of film noir. However, I found only a couple of hints of displays emotion out of the 19 individually framed photos. Because of this, the conversation between them is thwarted.

I preferred the tone of the grouping of the photos over the narrative. Having hyper-real close-ups of human facial features thrust at you is stimulating. And, high contrast black and whites are always jarring and a little bit spooky. But, for them to work better as a group, I would suggest better use of the negative space between each image. Negative space is often a forgotten design element, but effectively using it can tie a group of photos such as these together and create a finer sense of "conversation."

JESSIE KATZ - The World is my Living Room / My Living Room is the World

Jessie Katz's collages and prints tell a story: Katz anthropomorphizes potted house plants and pits them against their wishes for the freedom to live wild. But do they really? They are given rolls within mid-America households and have dreams of their own. They pose the quintessential question whether it is better to live a sheltered life or one in the hard, wild world.

Ultimately, Katz answers her own question with her piece aptly titled "It's Not So Glamorous Out There As You Think." Ah, yes, the grass is always greener… until you get to the other side.

Katz's process, however, leaves me feeling like an under-watered begonia. My biggest complaint lies in the work that includes a few too many words on the images. Note to young artists: be very very careful about including words and sayings on your art. Show the viewer what you want them to think, don't tell them. It is a rare artist who writes on their work successfully. A much more cleaver use of expressing ideas is when Katz gives her plants thought bubbles. No words, just the pictures of lush grasses and greenery. This is exactly the language a plant would use – not words.

Overall, I would have liked to see a better, crisper product from Katz. I know she has excellent print work in her oeuvre, but the inkjet on paper included in this show needs a much higher resolution for it to really make a punch. The images are something of a throwback to the '50s and '60s. Sharper and bolder colors were the design norm back then. This element is lost in Katz's grainy translation.

One last thought… For those students who have been given the task of manning the gallery: Show a little bloody interest when some one walks in! I understand you may be bored out of your mind sitting in a quiet gallery for a couple of hours on a Saturday. But, the best way to break out of your stupor is by engaging in some conversation with the people who have come to see the work.

Glass 3

I spent Saturday in Baltimore at the American Craft Council Show, but during my drive home I made a stop in DC to catch an exhibit in Georgetown called Glass 3. It is a collaboration of three glass art groups: The Washington Glass School from DC, The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, and Cohesion (a network of glassmakers from Sunderland, United Kingdom). Having spent a number of hours at the ACC Craft Show looking at dozens of talented glass artists doing beautiful things with the craft of glass blowing, it was a treat to immerse myself in the next level of studio glass art. Glass 3 is a fantastic showing of where the studio glass art movement is going. We are not talking about pretty bowls and goblets here. This is conceptually rich museum quality work. Read a review of the show here.

With that said, my main goal was to check out the work of Tim Tate, Michael Janis and Erwin Timmers (all from the Washington Glass School). We will be featuring their work in our April show. This will be a "don't miss show" for all of Central Virginia. So mark your calendar now… April 4... Tim, Mike and Erwin - the rock stars of today's art glass movement - will be in Charlottesville celebrating the opening of their exhibit at Migration.

Images include:  Left, Time Tate - The Envy of the Inertia.  Middle, Michael Janis - Cannot Undo.  Right: Erwin Timmers - Testing Limits.

Other than Tim's, Mike's and Erwin's work, I was impressed with these Glass 3 artists:

Allegra Marquart (DC)

Sarah Blood (UK)

Phil Vickery (UK)

Glass 3 runs through March 9 and is at the Shops of Georgetown (3222 M Street – ground floor).

Amercian Craft Council - Baltimore Craft Show

I spent Saturday in Baltimore attending this year's American Craft Show presented by the American Craft Council (unfortunately, Laura couldn’t join me). It's the premier craft show in the country and featured over 700 artists this year. Laura and I never miss it. My primary reason for going this year was to visit the artists we represent at Migration who were exhibiting. Since most of our artists live all over the country (and not often close to Charlottesville), it's a terrific opportunity to visit with them when they come to Baltimore.

I got to see Jeremy Newman & Allison Ciancibelli. They are our glass artists from Twisp, Washington. Laura and I took their work to SOFA Chicago this past November and did extremely well with it. Jeremy had planned to come to Chicago but ultimately was not able to make it. So it was especially great to see him and his wife, Allison, Saturday. As usual, their work looked great. And, in just the few minutes I hung out with them, a collector bought Ancestry (no doubt, an excellent addition to their collection). I can report that Jeremy and Allison are moving their work to an even higher level. Great to see.

Next, I dropped in on Michael Bauermeister. We also took Michael's giant wood sculptures to SOFA - and he joined us there. Michael is from Missouri, so it has been a real treat to see him twice in the last three months. Michael's booth looked great. Of special note were his wall sculptures. I particularly loved his new water piece. Wood made to look like the ripples moving across water. Beautiful and majestic.

My next stop was to check in on Karin Worden. Karin is a jeweler from California, one of our favorite artists, and someone we always love to chat with. Karin reported an active weekend - no surprise since we think her work is so special and crowd pleasing. Also good to see how her work has developed and where she is placing her focus. Meticulous.

I also stopped in and said hi to Harry and Wendy Besett. They came down from Vermont for the show. Other than talking about - and plotting to resolve - the world's problems, Harry gave me a great tour of their newer work. Most significant is the inclusion of new hues to their landscapes. Really nice art. FYI: We are down to only one of their pieces left at the gallery. It would be a nice addition to anyone's home.

For those of you who may have missed the Baltimore show and don’t regularly travel across the country to look at art, I encourage you to drop by our gallery, Migration, in Charlottesville. We have a wide collection of these artists’ work. Stop in or give us a call.

Having visited our artists, I spent the rest of my time cruising the show aisles with my eye peeled for new talent and other beautiful art. The following are my highlights.

  Janice Ho

Marty Fielding

Joel Hunnicutt

MT Maxwell Furniture Co.

Geoff Buddie & Chris Rom

Maggie Casey

Finally, I was able to say hi to Washington, DC glass artist Erwin Timmers before he started a live demonstration of his eco friendly "green" glass art (an extremely large crowd gathered for it).  We talked a bit about the current show he is in called Glass 3.  More on this later.

James Scheuren & Cecilia Steel at Off-Grounds Gallery

I made a stop at University of Virginia's Off-Grounds Gallery this weekend. I'm kind of fascinated with this little space and like to check out what is going on there. Unfortunately, it takes a little shoe leather to stay up on its happenings – I wish there was better advertising for the shows. Yet, it is an invaluable learning opportunity for UVa art students to get their work out there in a commercial gallery setting.

I also like to analyze the exhibits. Not necessarily for my own purposes, but, I think it is important for someone from outside the University to review the work. From my experience, art students get a bulk of their reviews from friends ("Oh my gosh! You are like sooooo talented. I could never draw an apple to look that real. Do you think you could draw a picture of this beer bottle for me?"), their parents ("Oh, honey, we are just so proud of you. No one in our family has ever had any artistic talent. I don't know where you get it from."), and teachers ("Uh, right, yes… Good use of tonal contrasts and color. You get a B-."). Bottom line… It’s a real challenge for a student to get objective criticism. Even harder in Charlottesville where there are only a few art critics in the mainstream media. With that said, I offer my opinions in a constructive manner and with no hidden agenda.

So, I trundled over to the Off Grounds Gallery with pen and paper in hand and checked out the photography of James Scheuren and Cecilia Steel. My first impression was good. The last exhibit there was haphazardly hung and unprofessional. This one was smartly hung - I say this because each photo measured 16"x16", was framed exactly the same, hung perfectly in align and spaced equally apart. Although appealing to my Monk-like need for order, this uniform presentation ultimately gave the grouping of 32 photos a homogenous feel. I almost lost interest in the first minute. But I broke it down, examined the individual pieces, and made it make sense.

The obvious theme here is Nature in one form or another. James Scheuren's 16 photos seemed to speak of the age old battle of Man versus Nature. But was it about urban decay? Urban renewal? Or maybe the plight of the environment? Hard to tell. I found intrigue in the strong images of a landscape zambonied by a line up of bulldozers making room for the next Wal-Mart. And, the most powerful images offer signs of Nature springing forth from the raped landscapes. In those, I felt hope and a promise of Nature overcoming Man's destruction. For me, Scheuren's best photo, titled "27 November 2007", pictures a sweet dew covered field of grass belittling the mechanical power towers cast in the unfocused distance. The effect is accomplished by Scheuren resting his camera on the ground allowing us to stand eye-to-eye with the blades of grass. It is this altered perspective that makes this piece stand out. Virtually all the others are taken from the obvious and readable point of view of a person standing on the ground before the images. Mixing up vantage points would satisfy a need for drama. Without it, the images are all too easily readable and don’t say much.

Going back to the homogeneity issue… All of Scheuren's photos are simply titled by the date they were taken. Sixteen photos taken from June 2007 through December 2007. That’s fine. What bothered me, however, was that the photos all look like they were taken on the exact same clear, sunny day. Possibly just a few hours apart. There is very little atmospheric variance or change in the weather. No foreboding storm clouds on the horizon. No darkness in the destruction. No mist shrouding the steel and concrete constructions looming over us. No tension. No drama. Just clear, sunny days.

In Cecilia Steel's photos I had a much better sense that Nature is the clear winner in its struggles with Man. Made me feel better inside. For Steel, manmade objects are pictured in a state of decay instead of birth. Linear elements are overcome by the organic ones that surround and overtake them. Pretty and a little easier to look at.

Steel's raises the level of her art in the photos that shorten the focal point. As in "Footpath", she has rendered the backdrop a mere abstraction of leaves and the focal point rests on a single unobtrusive branch. Takes a moment to read, but is effective due to the beauty of the colors and patterns captured.

Unfortunately, Steel runs into the same problem as Scheuren: A majority of her photos seem to have been shot on that same clear, sunny day. Early fall, maybe? When Steel submits herself to the weather, she is more successful. Two photos stand out: "James" includes a discernable change in weather - maybe a misty morning or the moment following a light rain. Regardless, "James" is more about neglect, desperation and loneliness and less about the beauty of the natural world. The same with "Stasis"; its touch of fog and predominant use of red make this image unique.

As I stood in the middle of the Gallery, the 32 photos framed identically, lined up perfectly, spaced exactly, and captured on what felt like the exact same cloudless day did not represent two bodies of work to me. The art of landscape photography should convey that single special image captured at that single special moment. The intensity of the light, the shadows, the mist in the air, the hues of the sky, the altered perspective… they all must play a part.