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Artists
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Nicola Ginzel's large white Cube sculpture juxtaposes a cool minimalist exterior with a fleshy pink interior. Primordial and instinctual concerns motivated Nicola to invite four people to participate in the cavernous womb. With little introduction and instruction, the four had to discover for themselves what their role would be inside. The performance breathed life, humor, and spontaneity.
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In Love Is a Shield, Stalyn Freile reveals a true love affair, his own. He re-writes real love letters received onto the underside of 50 umbrellas. The open umbrellas are suspended crowded in a room at the height where they can be easily read. Meanwhile a soothing soundtrack he recorded during hurricane Floyd fills the room.
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German Rodriguez's Light Sculpture Installation with Sound is a loud blinking room. The installation, populated by hovering colorful light sculptures, blinks to the rhythm of sounds which German plays live on the weekends. The silver drawings on the white walls and floor resemble electric schematics which all lead to the octagonal booth where German "conducts" his moody experimental sounds.
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Nature is tamed and transformed indoors by Lynn Tondrick. In Swarm she uses hundreds of maple seeds attached to the walls to form a graceful rhythm. In a more subtle manipulation, acorn seeds also attached to the wall give shape to Circle.
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Project M is the first work in color by photographer Adrian Crispin. Hundreds of slide photos taken of the NY subway where transferred to video where they were directed into specific time sequences and mixed with a soundtrack. The result is an opulent operatic vision of the NY subway system.
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Kari Steeves casts resin out of dozens of jars and bottles for Cupboard Well Stocked. Inside the colorful casts Kari poses ubiquitous questions. Suspended from the ceiling the dozens of casts sway slightly while sounds of glass (sometimes shattering) randomly fill the space.
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Pool is a video installation by Kristine Marx. In a dark room two projections of people in and around a pool are interrupted by Plexiglas and a mirror atop a table. The distortions intensify and redirect the perspective of the otherwise trivial scenes. Visitors walk around the table to discover reflections and therefore become interruptions themselves.
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Meticulous dedication and patience first comes to mind about Sharon Libes's installation of 8 paintings. The two suites, Around The Block and Double Crossed (and then some) are densely worked optical illusions. When stepping back, the overall patterns reveal a block or a cross. These paintings seduce and call for close inspection.
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Escrve-Me is an interactive performance. Enclosed in a box with a single arm hole, Joanna Da Toca communicates with visitors by writing on a pad. Visitors question her and even touch her arm and hand. The dialogues are varied and often humorous. After the performance the written notes remain scattered around the empty box.
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Rachel Stevens's veil-like sculpture of wire and blue fabric has an ominous but inviting feel. Large scale but seemingly transparent, the skeletal structure exposes its interior. The title, Simile, suggests comparisons and the levitating divided shape contemplation.
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Frank Palaia's installation of transparencies mounted in sculptural light boxes, reveal his interest in the image/object dichotomy. McArches for example shows the ubiquitous McDonald's arches among classical aqueduct arches. An old wood b ox illuminates the pun. Fallen Idols are two long metal boxes that seem to have fallen off some building. Here the collaged images are of different bridges. All the works radiate the beauty of nature and man made structures coexisting.
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Nathaniel Lieb uses simple materials to make subtle reproductions of nature. A stairwell is interrupted by shimmering Rain. Made of fishing wire, the dense lines fool and captivate the eye. The calming effect of the work is echoed in Nathaniel's other installation, Lawn. Simple green toothpicks standing on ends sprout from a wooden floor. The transformed patch is a soothing reminder of nature's beauty.
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What is exactly Behind Belly Button? Mia Brownell's large paintings give us colorful insights. Consumption, gastronomy, food substances, and substitutes are the themes she merges in her pop-still-life canvases. Luscious colors and ribbons adorn these wrapped table settings where the center piece may be a piece of candy as in the case in Simulating Nutrasweet.
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Jim Respess presents an impressive bewildering structure. In Zig, a stack of houses diminishing in size rise up to the ceilings. There are no doors or windows in sight. Alternating between gold leaf and graphite, the houses attract attention as they seem to twist in hopes of reaching higher.
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Dahlia Elsayed's installation of Hudson County Intersections is expressive and poetic. Geographically and socially poignant, the work drawn directly on the wall, is a mapping of the county where Dahlia has her studio. Sketchy lines from streets and places of interest. Typed notes in a grid seem to be fragments of local conversations (often in slang). There is even an area where visitors can add further expression th the vivid community board.
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James Dustin's painterly repetitive grids require careful observation. One might miss the fact and the point of Cabinet Men III, 16 portraits of anonymous mustached men. The similarity of the appropriated 19th century images of men can be unsettling. Also, in the Light Water Series a repetition of an architectural detail has subtle differences of color and light that beg to be discovered.
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An array of mixed media works reveals the innovative humor of Karin Luner. A series of black wall sculptures are actually fireworks with wicks ready to be lit in I'm not Responsible. Deflatables are just that, air filled clear plastic bags but with blunt text such as "Been there done that". All of Luner's pieces have a smart in-your-face attitude that is easy and fun to relate to.
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Have You Eaten Caviar Lately? Is the ironic question that Alex Kosolapov asks. Consumerism, both Russian and American, is considered in the lavish installations. The caviar can is transformed into an icon of consumerism not unlike what Warhol did to a soup can. Sculptures, photographs, wall and floor coverings, and religious icons are employed in this caviar campaign. The irony however is that few Russians or Americans could afford to eat caviar as frequently as canned soup.
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Belief and consumption is explored in the Palm Reading Paintings by Margaret Murphy. Anonymous and named persons are represented by their palm lines. Murphy, however, with a sense of humor and a pop art approach provides palm lines that depict consumer choices. Colorful products such as Lucky Charms, Kraft Macaroni&Cheese and M&Ms appear to be quite revealing.
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The delicate ceramic sculptures of Penelope Helen Gaitanis are monuments to her feminine heritage. Using classical motif's mixed with personal family references, the sculptures seem to tell ancient stories. In Family Tree a ceramic column is topped by a mandolin case and a pair of ballet shoes. It also plays a familiar tune and then a voice sings away. Above, on a wall, framed wings speak of another dream.
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High above on the fifth floor gallery there is an appealing mass of color. The untitled whimsical sculpture is by Cindy Tower. Using recycled bright plastic detergent containers she creates a playful world that floats above. Not easily visible, it becomes a surprise to those who happen to glimpse up into its charm.
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Margaret Cogswell created a unique environment. Still, she seems to allow the original structure of the place to inform her installation. Aluminum pipes, funnels, and walls seem to have grown from the floor. The title Oracle - (anticipating Delphi) may be about the revelation a site and its history can provide. The result is a contemplative place. Three monitors show walking feet...leading perhaps back to the history of the site.
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David Melamed's The Humbleness of Evil at 1:12 is a small house-like sculpture. Few know it's a scale model of the unabomber's shack. The subtle social issues combined with art rhetoric are camouflaged with the works' tactile beauty and simplicity. In the installation, Accidental Documentary and the Placebo Effect at 30%, the out of focus, pictures are alluring but unsettling. All the elements call for inspection. Taking it all in, it lights up like theater while the implications in the title and pictures can be haunting.
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