Grasslands. Connie Lippert, artist
By Natasha Anderson
Blue Spiral 1 presents four new exhibits opening Friday, January 6, and running through February 22. In the Main Gallery, Go Figure 2.0 explores personal interpretations of the figure through realistic and impressionistic mediums including woven photographs, life-size cast glass sculptures, paintings and drawings. The renderings hold a mirror to the complexities people often embody: resilience, empathy, sexuality, confidence, mystique and humor.
John Sours, artist
“At an experiential level, the viewer is presented with information that appears realistic from a distance, but upon closer examination quickly dissolves into the simplicity of marks where particularity becomes moments of abstraction,” says Tamie Beldue of her mixed media pieces for the exhibit.
Go Figure 2.0 also features work from Dean Allison, Jamaal Barber, Julyan Davis, Nancy Kubale, Charles Ladson, Heather Marshall, Althea Murphy-Price, Reuben Negrón, Peter Olson, Jon Sours, David Samuel Stern and Kensuke Yamada.
In the Showcase Gallery, George Peterson: SHRED GRIND CARVE presents Peterson’s new sculptural works in wood, metal and reclaimed skateboards. Peterson transforms the surfaces of his sculptures by carving, burning, sanding and painting, resulting in permanent inscriptions of his gestural and expressive process. Like most of his work, these pieces are inspired by the expressive qualities of the material combined with his artistic tendencies: heavy textures, deliberate seams and layered earthy colors. The exhibit also includes several mosaics, with some that incorporate the original graphics and colors of the skateboards.
Black River. BA Thomas, artist
“You will find lots to see and touch in this grouping,” says Peterson. “There are many layers of material, texture and color and I hope people take the time to examine them closely.”
Connie Lippert: Ecological Survey, in the Small Format Gallery, presents Lippert’s wedge-woven tapestries celebrating natural systems through the medium of dyed yarn.
“We live in a time of ecological anxiety that can be overwhelming,” says Lippert. “My response to this is to uplift our natural environment and find joy in that which surrounds us. By giving our attention to this wonder, we recognize its sacredness.”
In contrast to most weaving which is done horizontally on the loom, wedge weaving is done on the diagonal, which yields its characteristic scalloped edge. This technique originated around 1870 by the Navajo. With devoted reverence to the natural world, Lippert’s tapestries convey a message, one of intertwined environmental respect and protection.
Insignia, in the Lower Level Gallery, is a group exhibit that features works that demonstrate signs and symbols through a variety of mediums; painting, cut paper collage, trompe l’oeil train cars, metal sculpture and clay installation. “My sculptures in this exhibit are architectural in nature,” says metal artist Zack Noble. “I grew up in Brooklyn and I’ve always been drawn to urban landscapes.”
The exhibit also showcases work by BA Thomas, Kreh Mellick, Eric Knoche, Duy Huynh and Ishmael Leaver.
Learn more at BlueSpiral1.com.
