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SURPRISE THE SKY
As we approach Labor Day and the symbolic
end of summer, cooler morning temperatures
remind us that a new season is on the way.
We now begin a transitional period when the
world around us begins to change before our
eyes: green leaves turn to gold and crimson,
dusk comes sooner, and the constellations
above our heads reveal new patterns. “Surprise
the Sky," currently on view at Trace Gallery,
features three artists who explore transforma
tive processes in their drawing, painting and
multi-media works.
The show title is a line from an Emily
Dickinson poem which describes a "curi
ous cloud'' rolling across the landscape and
changing shape from a "sheet with horns"
to a regal queen in robes. Lauren Gallaspy's
drawings are much like finding shapes in
clouds. Her intricate ink-and-graphite draw
ings on tracing paper combine recognizable
images like animals and flowers with organic
shapes and lines that recall webs, vines and
ropes. In "Strain" a woman crouches beneath
the weight of animals balanced on top of her
back. A bear, fox and cockerel pile on top of
one another, linked by bits of thin rope tied in
knots like a net. "Swamplandia" also features
a woman, here lying naked and supine, with
an alligator-like creature emerging from her
tcrso. She seems to be part of the swamp and
a generative force for the animal that grows
from her body as the rest of her recedes into
the watery bracken.
Gallaspy says that in her choice
of subject matter she explores "the
idea of femininity as a liminal posi
tion, a sort of endless threshold,
both literal and metaphorical. I am
continually drawn to species that
skirt the edge of civilization like
dogs, birds, deer, bats, bear, even
the occasional transgressive reptile,
and our affectionate, frightened,
sublime, violent, sometimes even
fatal, emotional and physical entan
glements with them."
Her drawings are both organic
and controlled, with precise black
lines and details, like white gouache
highlights on the diamonds encrust
ing "Blood Diamond Dog," a hybrid
creature that is part beagle and part
gemstone. Gallaspy's drawings illustrate the
multi-faceted worlds we inhabit where the
animal, vegetable and mineral are intricately
connected, calling out our sometimes symbi
otic and sometimes exploitative relationships
with nature.
Erin McIntosh is also interested in in-
between states and evolving systems. Her
water-based media and cut-paper works
combine pastel shades of pink and peach
with white and black; sinewy lines and soft
smudges vie with geodesic doodles to cre
ate images that appear like something alive
under a microscope. "Fortuitous Fusion" is a
Lauren Gallaspy's drawing “Surprise the Sky” is on display at Trace Gallery
through Sept. 23.
work on paper that has been painted, pasted
and taped in so many layers that it buckles
and undulates, enhancing the perception
that there is something alive captured in the
frame. The spectacular "Measureless Oceans of
Space" is a large piece of peach-colored paper
into which an intricate pattern of crisscrossing
lines has been cut to create something like an
egg-shaped ball of string.
"It was a challenge, not only in terms
of stamina but also in terms of treating my
work with an increased level of precision,"
says McIntosh, "and the influence of preci
sion has since influenced my drawings." The
connections and pathways created
by Amoving the negative space
between the lines form a geometri
cally lacy pattern. I imagined the
piece as a visual representation of
the intersection of people's lives as
they converge and part at different
points across space and time.
Zuzka Vaclavik's graffiti-like
paintings and multimedia works are
also reminiscent of organic systems
seen up close. Her "bioscience fic
tions" include flora and fauna, often
stylized or decorated in glitter and
rhinestones, creating conglomerates
that are both "natural" and "syn
thetic." Incompletely erased pencil
marks on some of the paintings
emphasize the idea of images which
are still in process and transforming
before your eyes. Vaclavik counts
her experiences living in other coun
tries as essential to her work.
She says, "I have gathered a lot
of rich visual information from vari
ous cultures that come together in
the works. Even though we have
resources like the Internet, there is
a big difference between looking at images
online and experiencing them in the actual
place." I agree. Go see the exhibition in per
son at Trace Gallery, on view through Sept. 23.
Hot for Teacher: The Lamar Dodd School of
Art presents the "MMXI: Faculty Exhibition."
Faculty in the studio art program share recent
artwork with their students, colleagues and
the public. Painting, sculpture, photography,
ceramics, multi-media, video art and more are
all on display through Sept. 14.
Caroline Barratt arts@flagpole.com
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