Shows Worth Seeing: "Hardware" @ Target Gallery ('til dec. 4)

My friend Ann and I have gotten into the practice of creating a Day of Art for ourselves. This includes sharing our work with eachother (she is a wonderful printmaker) and visiting gallery shows. Today we visited the Torpedo Factory in downtown Alexandria and popped into the Target Gallery.

The current show is called Hardware, a collaborative exhibition created by the New Image Art Quilt Group. The show not only highlights the versatility of fabric arts, but the creativity that occurs when a group of artists works together to push the envelop of a theme -- in this case "hardware."

Earlier in the day, in another gallery, I had asked Ann, " If you were a collector which piece of art would you choose from this exhibition?" By the time we had come to the Target Gallery I had forgetten the question until Ann stopped in front of Sue Pierce's Closed Circuit, and proclaimed, "This is the piece I would choose!"

Sue Pierce, Closed Circuit(detail) 15" x 24"

All the pieces in Hardware express a sense of play, as well as thoughtful analysis by the artists. Some artists dealt with the hardware theme head on, such as B.J Adams' Tireless Tools, while others were more oblique in their approach. Sue Brown's Unlocked used key metaphors, while N. Amanda Ford used old denim to express the theme in the piece Well Worn - Hard Wear. Sandra LH Woock has four pieces in the show and expressed a painterly quality and luminosity I never thought possible in fabric art.

Sandra LH Woock Nails: Patina 15" x 26"

The works were all relatively small, but created dramatic images when viewed from a distance. The Target Gallery provides a lovely open space for this show. Hardware is an clever show and made me think of how new mediums will push you as an artist, taking you to previously unexplored places and ideas if you let them. In this sense Hardware is a celebration in artist collaboration and individuality!

Memories: photorealism or cheezy?

(acrylic on canvas, 4'x2') Detail of a photorealist exploration of memory. This is definitely a work in progress. I'm not at all sure about it. It could end up looking pretty cheezy, but I've already done a lot of work on it (sigh) so I'm committed to seeing it to its completion. I will post the larger piece as it comes together.

Isterian Light

(acrylic on canvas; 4' x 3.5') This is still a work in progress as they say. It is off the coast of Croatia, on the cusp of Spring -- and peace in the region. It was a hopeful day -- after delivering a 3-day workshop to about 15 community advocates -- and I wanted to create a hopeful painting that still acknowledged the wounds of the past.

Here I also used the under -painting and glazing techniques. I wanted to 'flatten' the composition by bring the background forward. By creating a shallow depth of field, I wanted it to read simultaneously as a naturalistic rendering , as well as a more abstract composition of color and form. I don't think I suceeded. Some of the colors are too hot, and the renderings confusing. I will continue to work on this, perhaps using some coler red or purple glazes over the 'hot spots'. I will keep you posted.