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• ■ .f'nv:
iSMSSSEE
THE AGE OF INNOCENCE
Strangers at Play: Currently on display at the
beautiful Trace Gallery in the Chase Park
Warehouses is an alluring two-woman exhibi
tion of figurative ceramics. The artists, Debbie
Kupinsky and Michaelene Walsh, make a
smart pairing in the cozy space—their work
bearing a multitude of visual and ideological
connections.
Kupinsky's trio of ceramic constructions
sits mutely against the left gallery wall, their
"dialogues" with one another almost audible
in their quiet surroundings. "Maybe" displays
a young woman in silent audience with an
impossibly large wolf, the radiant porcelain
surface of his head elegantly patterned with
incised, repetitive cuts. The pair perch atop
cracked and glazed porcelain, which sharply
contrasts with the spare surface treatments
of their heads. As a matter of fact, Kupinsky's
attention to surface detail is clearly one of her
many formidable traits as a sculptor.
Debbie Kupinsky's ceramic sculpture “Maybe" is on view at Trace Gallery until
Dec 3.
soothing and foreboding, these hands extend
all manner of prayer, and not all of it entirely
comforting. "Elegy," a handsome, silvery
graphite diptych of wall pieces pins a bunny
against a wall. Walsh's forms may immediately
imply playfulness, but there's something mark
edly serious in the work. Her craft is impec
cable (wowee!) and her attention to surface,
much like Kupinsky's, carries the work to great
distances. Dangling in the large windows, a
bird in flight, red and glossy as a candied
apple, flies aimlessly in rotating circles. Next
to it, an ice cream cone dipped in soot. This is
great stuff—for real.
I've made no secret of my enthusiasm for
the curation and installation of the three
exhibitions that have passed through this
newly minted gallery. The current show only
reinforces my belief that the folks at Trace are
bringing consistently great work to Athens. On
view until Dec. 3, and highly recommended.
For hours and more
information, visit
www.tracegallery
athens.com.
Not to be Missed:
Rapidly approaching
is the first Wednesday
of the month, which
means another install
ment of Lauren
Fancheris ongoing
media festival/exhi
bition, "6x6." The
events, which consis
tently bring together
six (and only six!)
time-based art pieces
under the auspices
of various themes, as
selected by a rotat
ing cast of curators,
always promise delight,
marvel, whimsy and
(in no small amount)
confusion. To describe
"Vessel," the companion piece to "Maybe,"
evokes pottery and portraiture through its
figure's neatly scalped skull, which contains
(or, somehow, collects) tiny birds and trinkets.
The dichotomy between interior and exterior is
on full display in this piece, which, it seems,
is a recurring motif for the artist. In a state
ment accompanying the exhibition, she writes
of an interest "in how we reconcile the beauty
and innocence in the world with the inevi
table loss of [that] innocence. I am drawn to
what I call 'objects of nostalgia' like thimbles,
teacups, small cast animals... that can be
reinterpreted as symbolic for this loss." There's
something tender, touching, sweet and sad
about her work, in the surface, in the forms
and in what they conceal. I'm eager to see
where she goes from here.
Walsh owns the space with her diminu
tive, migrant and formidable pieces dotting
the walls, shelves and windows of the gallery.
Almost without foil, appearing in pairs or
groupings, Walsh's elegant sculptures cumu
late to form conversations that are at once
formally playful and conceptually engaging.
The stunnei of the lot is "Milagros," a 5'x4'
grid of paired hands glazed and poised on the
gallery's back wait The immediately recogniz
able forms reward prolonged looking, as the
subtle differences between the pairs start
to reveal the depth and complexity of the
supplications their title implies. Alternately
the series in three statements, I would offer
this: often unpredictable, regularly exciting,
consistently worth your time. December wel
comes Sabrina Cuadra of local band Whistling
School for Boys to the role of ringleader;
Cuadra will curate a group of as-yet undecided
works around the theme of "Relief." "6x6" is
held in the Cine Lab on Hancock, on the first
Wednesday of every month, from 7-8 p.m.
Information on curators as well as instructions
for submission (which you should totally do)
can be found at www.hexadic.blogspot.com.
And, as always, admission is free. See you
there.
Also opening at Visionary Growth Gallery
on Dec. 5 is "PSYCOLLAGRAPHICA," a group
photography show featuring the work of
John Saterinercss, Phillip White, Jillian
Guarco and Alexei Gurai. From the looks
of the press kit, the artists represented are
approaching photography from a wide (and
I do mean wide) variety of means. I'm eager
to see how this work will lend itself tQ.the
bucolic setting of the DanielsviUe gallery; this
one's going to be interesting. If you haven't
made the trip out to Visionary Growth before,
"PSYCOLLAGRAPHICA" might just be the occa
sion to do it. Look for an extended review of
the show in future Art Notes.
.
Brian Hitselberger arts@flagpole.coni
7 th Annual
Holiday Artist Market
Saturday, Dec. 4th, llam-4pm
Featuring:
Mary Hollis Griffith - ceramics
Jillian Guarco - polaroid prints
Beth Cyr - sterling silver jewelry'
Ailecn Lewis - braided silk jewelry
Jack Hudson - wood turned bowls
Jen Holt - vintage inspired journals
Rachel and Brian Winters - felt birds
Lea Purvis - bookbinding and pottery
Erin Sanders - cycling hats and bags
Keith Rein - designer wrapping paper
Amanda Jane - litde cuckoo chocolates
Ashley Wills - leather and fabric clutches
Deanna Perlman - hairbows and bowties
Jean-Marie Buxton - natural olive oil soap
Nora Arkin - knitted scarves, cowls, hats and headbands
Christina Rodriguez Haley - vintage inspired costume jewelry
Amanda Makepeace - original paintings, bookmarks, bookplates
email: 283ardstmarket@gmail.com
283 E. Broad St. • 706-208-1283
AAA
Airport Express, Inc.
800.354.7874 • 404.767.2000
Call for reservations
www. a a a a ir port ex press, com
Athens/UGA Schedule
12 Round Trips Daffy
Expires 11/3000 *45 per pfmpo. i
Idren Under 10 Ride Free PER Paying Adult
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