An image by Rob Hoekstra.
Also showing at KMOCA are the layered plastic assemblages of Susan Meyer, which float mysteriously as if they were utopian cities of the future, all light and color, effervescent, self sustaining — Meyer employs techniques of mapmaking and populates her laser-cut acrylic environments with tiny figures and plants—and the abstract paintings of Dina White, in which strangely disembodied biomorphic forms co-mingle with the spiritual and cosmological in compositions that glint with iridescent color. White also fabricates her own ink from walnuts and draws with it, creating works that emphasize the gestural.
Holiday bargains
The ARTBAR and Storefront galleries, located on opposite ends of Broadway—ARTBAR in Midtown, across the street from Perry’s Towing Service, and the Storefront downtown — are both featuring holiday group shows with lots of affordable art for sale. At the ARTBAR, every work for sale is $200 or less, and there are some great deals among the pieces by 29 artists: personal favorites are the three black and white prints by Frank Pesko, two of which are etchings and the other a linocut — the large linocut depicts a mysterious crate like container that seems to be imploding on a hill threaded with waste pipes in a flooded landscape of debris; the floral monotypes of Maxine Davidowitz, which are beautifully nuanced in tone and form; the two digital C prints by Jan Nagle of a woman in motion outdoors looking down at us, which powerfully capture a moment, as it exists in memory; and the abstract digital prints of Llyn Tower and Lesley Warmsley. All the pieces are framed.
The theme at the Storefront Gallery is hummingbirds, and any sentimental notion of these exquisite tiny pollinators with the supersonic-speed wings is defied by the droning, otherworldly soundtrack by Ed Butler, a musician who took a recording of the beating of a bird’s wings and tinkered with it by raising the notes, slowing them down, and reversals. Part of the Sinterklaas celebration — every year, gallery owner Nancy Donskoj features artworks depicting an animal chosen by the Sinterklaas committee — the exhibition represents 13 artists, working in a variety of media.
Befitting their subject, many feature jewel-like color, including Loel Barr’s Hum a Few Bars, in which the abstracted, emerald green form of the bird has a bell-like resonance; Marilynn Rowley’s gorgeous mixed media monotype Pause; Karen Berelowitz’s red and gold painting on metal, entitled Nectar of Life, in which the stylized forms of bird and flowers have an oriental flair; and Jacquie Roland’s surreal Jeweled Fantasy, in which a cyclopean, earthbound eye regards hovering birds and flowers.
Pizza and art at Tony’s
Still not yet on visitors’ radar but hopefully attracting attention in the future is the show of eclectic artworks in the back room of Tony’s Pizzeria. Curator Dennis Connors has hung a variety of fabulous art on the embossed-tin walls of the old storefront space, including an assemblage by native son Michael Lalicki in which an actual carving knife hangs from a moody, subdued image of a cross, small prints depicting a cup and fish by Barbara Ethan, a large disheveled bird in distressed white metal by George Wiley, a couple of paintings by Pablo Shine, and a detailed black and white drawing entitled Ninja by Matt Pleva. On the opposite wall hang three Connors works, each depicting a barebones bed and crosses, drawn with the utmost simplicity, as if the image was a sign or cartoon, and imbued with texture (in one work, the bed appears to be drawn with sand). An array of small sculptures adorns the top of the piano, complemented by a jukebox, old bar stools and a baby’s highchair. Hopefully in January word will get around, lights installed, and the obligatory wine and cheese served …
On display for one night only were dozens of Chris Gonyea’s tree drawings in soot, along with some of his large paintings of trees, including a pine blown by wind into expressive arabesques and sinuous tree branches against a delicately colored sunset sky. The show was held in Gonyea’s new studio, on the second floor of Fair and John, and showcased his considerable skill with soot. Resembling delicate etchings, the pieces are made by gently erasing a soot-covered page; the artist also holds a flame up to the work to create a smoky effect resembling the over exposures in old black and white photos. The intricate tracery of branches is a wonder to behold, and the spectral nature of the representations, as if they were recalled in a dream or seen through a misted mirror, is appropriate considering the images are made with the carbonized remains of trees. Gonyea is preparing for a show at the Kentler International Drawing Space, located in Brooklyn, in February.
