Sumter, SC
Image to the left: Petrologifacts are the items,
locations and situations created and/or observed in scientific
style investigations and experiments: they are not naturally present
in, but occur as a result of the preparative or investigative procedure
based on curiosity with the origin, small-scale structure, and
composition of rocks.
Eric Burress.
https://sites.google.com/a/g.clemson.edu/ericburress/petrologifacts
A REVIEW BY JANE G. COLLINS
Special to The Item
If you like a breath of fresh air and the anticipation that spring
brings, Adrian Rhodes' exhibit Magpie is just what you need. Part of the
Emerging Artists Series held at Gallery 135 in Patriot Hall, Rhodes and
Eric Burress offer different perspectives on artistic creativity.
Like the magpie, Rhodes delights in collecting bits and pieces. She
fills her compositions with discovery - for herself and her audience.
Intrigued by the "tactile remnants" of pieces that lie beneath the
surface of things and suggest their history, she combines texture,
color, form and design. She does not believe a composition has to mean
something. Rather, it can be the glorious discovery of assemblage.
Rhodes' materials reflect the variety of her technique and exploration:
prismacolor, mylar, transfer, ink, graphite, Montana marker - which she
swears will write on just about any surface, screenprint and found
objects. Although there is a cohesiveness to her work, each element
creates its own conversation.
"Flotsam," "Lagan" (jettisoned
objects connected by a buoy so they can be retrieved later), and
"Jetsam" reflect the sky, sea and maps. The sculptural overlay in the
collages comes from an almost-completed painting which she deconstructed
and added to the three paintings because she felt they needed something
more. They bring depth of design and movement. The pins in "Jetsam"
could serve as identifying elements of places and explorations. Although
she develops a central feeling of travel, her collage techniques create
individual focal points, visual vignettes and energy. In "Detritus,"
Rhodes evokes turmoil and fluidity, leading the eye through intricate
patterns and textures.
"Obol," named after a silver Greek coin,
and "The Birds and the Bees" showcase her ability to utilize actual
objects in a natural rather than deliberately showy context. The framing
of "The Birds and Bees" adds great depth to the piece as a unit and to
the real and painted bee while the floating feathers make their own
subtle statement.
"Magpie I" regales the viewer with layers of
visual activity - the bees, the suggested honeycomb effect, the fragile
material pulled forward and the bright, radiating orange, yellow, pink,
magenta and purple circles on the left side of the composition. They
create a myriad of textural discovery. "Magpie III" whimsically runs off
the frame onto the walls with ribbon like black strips extending the
aura of the black, white and darker toned textures. "Magpie IV" seems
appropriate as an opening or closing entry for Rhodes' explorations: The
constellations, Taurus, land, the sea and the Viking ship - these move
through the space of the composition but are comprise individual
intricate mini revelations of pattern, form, texture and technique.
Rhodes' journey - on some of the items she even forbade herself from
using her four favorite color combinations because she felt herself
relying too heavily on them - is well worth taking.
At first,
Eric Burress' sculptures seem calm by comparison, yet they are developed
for exploration - the switches work, encouraging viewers to turn them
off and on. Inspired by "The Poetics of Space," by Gaston Bachelard,
Burress plays with material and space and the "metaphysical potential of
objects, materials, and environment." While that part of his artistic
statement may sound complex, he creates "canvascopes" which can point a
material object beyond itself," rather like finding oneself in a setting
and beginning to notice what actually is there, how it feels, and what
could lie beyond the experience.
In the forward to Bachelard's
book, John R. Stilgoe observes, "Every reader of it will never see
ordinary spaces in ordinary ways. Instead, the reader will see with the
soul of the eye." In many ways, this feeling is what Burress works to
create, a new way of noticing. In "Ponder: Influence" he places an open
palm beneath the material, a hand reaching out to potential discovery.
In "Escape" he contrasts the clenched fist in the lower left corner with
the jutting forms on the right. "Influence" offers the viewer different
switches (they all work) and raises the question of choices and their
outcome. He tantalizes even further by including a skull but obscuring
it enough to give the viewer a challenge, like options and
decision-making people do every day when responding to the incidents and
environment around them.
Burress further teases perception in
"Access," creating stones which really are not stones at all. Again, he
includes the switch and light, challenging the viewer to relate and
respond. "Passed: Past" displays his creative thinking - a paper towel
roller and the clever mounting on the tree section.
Both
artists explore beyond the expected, hoping to elicit discovery. They do
not lend themselves to a cursory passing thorough but reward the viewer
who takes time to look beyond the surface.
See Adrian Rhodes'
Magpie and Eric Burress' sculpture and collage at Gallery 135/Patriot
Hall, 135 Haynsworth St., through April 30. Admission is free and open
to the public. Gallery 135 hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
through Friday. For more information call (803) 436-2260.
Sumter Collects II remains at the Sumter County Gallery of Art, adjacent
to Patriot Hall, through April 14. Don't miss this opportunity to see
fine art from the collections of Sumter residents. Call (803) 775-0543
for more information.
Sumter, SC
Image to the left: Petrologifacts are the items, locations and situations created and/or observed in scientific style investigations and experiments: they are not naturally present in, but occur as a result of the preparative or investigative procedure based on curiosity with the origin, small-scale structure, and composition of rocks.
Eric Burress.
https://sites.google.com/a/g.clemson.edu/ericburress/petrologifacts
A REVIEW BY JANE G. COLLINS
Special to The ItemIf you like a breath of fresh air and the anticipation that spring brings, Adrian Rhodes' exhibit Magpie is just what you need. Part of the Emerging Artists Series held at Gallery 135 in Patriot Hall, Rhodes and Eric Burress offer different perspectives on artistic creativity.
Like the magpie, Rhodes delights in collecting bits and pieces. She fills her compositions with discovery - for herself and her audience. Intrigued by the "tactile remnants" of pieces that lie beneath the surface of things and suggest their history, she combines texture, color, form and design. She does not believe a composition has to mean something. Rather, it can be the glorious discovery of assemblage. Rhodes' materials reflect the variety of her technique and exploration: prismacolor, mylar, transfer, ink, graphite, Montana marker - which she swears will write on just about any surface, screenprint and found objects. Although there is a cohesiveness to her work, each element creates its own conversation.
"Flotsam," "Lagan" (jettisoned objects connected by a buoy so they can be retrieved later), and "Jetsam" reflect the sky, sea and maps. The sculptural overlay in the collages comes from an almost-completed painting which she deconstructed and added to the three paintings because she felt they needed something more. They bring depth of design and movement. The pins in "Jetsam" could serve as identifying elements of places and explorations. Although she develops a central feeling of travel, her collage techniques create individual focal points, visual vignettes and energy. In "Detritus," Rhodes evokes turmoil and fluidity, leading the eye through intricate patterns and textures.
"Obol," named after a silver Greek coin, and "The Birds and the Bees" showcase her ability to utilize actual objects in a natural rather than deliberately showy context. The framing of "The Birds and Bees" adds great depth to the piece as a unit and to the real and painted bee while the floating feathers make their own subtle statement.
"Magpie I" regales the viewer with layers of visual activity - the bees, the suggested honeycomb effect, the fragile material pulled forward and the bright, radiating orange, yellow, pink, magenta and purple circles on the left side of the composition. They create a myriad of textural discovery. "Magpie III" whimsically runs off the frame onto the walls with ribbon like black strips extending the aura of the black, white and darker toned textures. "Magpie IV" seems appropriate as an opening or closing entry for Rhodes' explorations: The constellations, Taurus, land, the sea and the Viking ship - these move through the space of the composition but are comprise individual intricate mini revelations of pattern, form, texture and technique.
Rhodes' journey - on some of the items she even forbade herself from using her four favorite color combinations because she felt herself relying too heavily on them - is well worth taking.
At first, Eric Burress' sculptures seem calm by comparison, yet they are developed for exploration - the switches work, encouraging viewers to turn them off and on. Inspired by "The Poetics of Space," by Gaston Bachelard, Burress plays with material and space and the "metaphysical potential of objects, materials, and environment." While that part of his artistic statement may sound complex, he creates "canvascopes" which can point a material object beyond itself," rather like finding oneself in a setting and beginning to notice what actually is there, how it feels, and what could lie beyond the experience.
In the forward to Bachelard's book, John R. Stilgoe observes, "Every reader of it will never see ordinary spaces in ordinary ways. Instead, the reader will see with the soul of the eye." In many ways, this feeling is what Burress works to create, a new way of noticing. In "Ponder: Influence" he places an open palm beneath the material, a hand reaching out to potential discovery. In "Escape" he contrasts the clenched fist in the lower left corner with the jutting forms on the right. "Influence" offers the viewer different switches (they all work) and raises the question of choices and their outcome. He tantalizes even further by including a skull but obscuring it enough to give the viewer a challenge, like options and decision-making people do every day when responding to the incidents and environment around them.
Burress further teases perception in "Access," creating stones which really are not stones at all. Again, he includes the switch and light, challenging the viewer to relate and respond. "Passed: Past" displays his creative thinking - a paper towel roller and the clever mounting on the tree section.
Both artists explore beyond the expected, hoping to elicit discovery. They do not lend themselves to a cursory passing thorough but reward the viewer who takes time to look beyond the surface.
See Adrian Rhodes' Magpie and Eric Burress' sculpture and collage at Gallery 135/Patriot Hall, 135 Haynsworth St., through April 30. Admission is free and open to the public. Gallery 135 hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information call (803) 436-2260.
Sumter Collects II remains at the Sumter County Gallery of Art, adjacent to Patriot Hall, through April 14. Don't miss this opportunity to see fine art from the collections of Sumter residents. Call (803) 775-0543 for more information.
