The Arts Council of Princeton looks to its new building for the theme of the ‘Small Works Exhibition.’
By: Pat Summers
With nearly 90 pieces on view in the tiny conTEMPORARY gallery, it’s quite a mix, about a quarter of which happen to be mixed media works. Both sizes and prices range from miniscule to sizeable at the Arts Council of Princeton’s annual Small Works Exhibition through April 14.
Sculptural pieces line the wide windowsill and fill risers in the middle of the room, while hanging works occupy remaining wall space in the densely stimulating setting.
For sheer viewing enjoyment, find an odd hour of day and be ready to twist, stretch and stoop, to see every side without touching. That’s a tough assignment since so many three-dimensional pieces call out to be handled.
Is there a door or a hint to Janet’s Felton’s "Hidden Treasures" presumably stashed in her cylindrical (porcelain) structure? Are the mesh tendrils waving atop Judy Tobie’s (wire mesh and handmade paper) "Phoenix" trying to escape or waiting to be woven in?
And can Susan Kubota’s "Construction by Committee" predictably a very mixed media work possibly remain upright long enough, given its genesis, to be thoroughly admired? Teardrop-shaped on a round base, this rust-colored piece must be a cautionary image. Nails stick out, wrapped wire seems to hold it together and other components sea glass to clumps of copper wire are helter-skelter. A branch extends from its open-air top, with a tiny (piece de resistance) brass bell on the end.
All Arts Council members, artists were encouraged to submit entries relating to construction and the organization’s new building. Many did; some did not the artistic temperament at work? A fun project for visitors: identify or count the works that hew to the suggested theme.
Titles don’t always give it away. "Cat at Work," a watercolor by Livy Glaubitz, bears no resemblance to an industrious feline. Nor is it the usual chorus in Aline Johnson’s spare ink drawing, "The Song of Each Voice," or the familiar "Scaffolding" in Pat Ward’s mixed media entry.
Prices range from $50 (a pen-and-ink drawing) to $1,800 (a bronze). A dozen are not for sale and one piece gives new meaning to NFS it was claimed with a red dot at least an hour before the March 2 opening reception. Latecomers beware; on-timers, too.
A few participants may have drawn on home-renovation experiences: "Planning Stage," a watercolor from Alice Warshaw; "Tile Samples," aka vivid abstractions by Al Aronson, and Trudy Glucksberg’s "Footsteps and Foundations." En route to her soft mixed media color blocks, she scanned a detail from one of her paintings into Photo Shop for manipulation and printed it on archival paper, then cut stencils and scribbled chalk and charcoal through the holes.
In his powerful bronze sculpture, "A Question of Balance," Charles Ilich also raises the subject of improvisation. How many legs does it take to support a table with a house on top? Must they match in style? What if two unmatched "legs" are counter-balanced by a heavy stick, and the whole thing looks stable, if unorthodox? Points for making it work to hold the structure, no matter how? Or minus points for its LOL look?
Leonora Kandiner’s mixed media "Landscape Rotunda" and Kathleen Preziosi’s "Layered Construction" of paper clay/porcelain continue the theme, as does Amarilis Vargas Matteo’s house-shaped mixed media "October Foundation."
"Hard Hat Required," Barbara Suomi’s C-print, shows the signs of the (building) times, while Heather Barros literally captures "A Few Nails Left Over" in her swirling purply-blue little oil.
In her two aptly named assemblages, "Structure #8" and "Structure #44," Arlene Gale Milgram has dealt with "the same visual concerns as in her ‘regular paintings.’" Using cold wax medium and water-soluble oil paint, she "often finds new color combinations or other usable surprises." She makes these playful pieces when she takes a break from serious painting but still wants to keep working.
Some artists made no bones about their subjects being far removed from all things construction, and viewers are again the winners. On opening night, only miles separated Victoria Chu Moy’s "Posh Open ‘Mic,’" a lyrical ink drawing, from drawings concurrently on view at New York’s annual Works on Paper show. And her work is a bargain.
Cleverly wrought with shades of string that suggest depth or surface, Jesse Kirsch’s mixed media "Ampersand" adds to the show. Its attendant shadows and mysteriously achieved curves provide additional reasons for appreciation. The viewer has to wonder: was this a challenge, an exercise, or an ode to a favorite symbol?
Barbara Reeder’s "Borderline" wavy watercolor stripes of sunset shades beckons from one corner spot, and another distinctive watercolor, by Jane Adriance, softly commands attention on the opposite side. "Provence #1" may be far from Princeton, but then again, it could just be an escape site for those now heavy into construction here at home.
2007 Small Works Exhibition is on view at the Arts Council of Princeton’s conTEMPORARY Gallery, Princeton Shopping Center, 301 N. Harrison St., Princeton, through April 14. For information, call (609) 924-8777. On the Web: www.artscouncilofprinceton.org