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Something's sure to grab you
Nine artists at Rosenfeld Gallery and Artists' House
Georganna Lenssen's portraits leap at you with an almost Expressionist panache. She does mechanics and tourists rather than "beautiful people," but she presents them with the sort of bravura effect once reserved for archbishops and opera singers.
She also does animals; her studies of birds are quite fascinating, with her quirky "splotchy" brushwork splendidly conveying a sense of arrested motion.
Anne Marble Caramanico's monotypes of people reflect a sort of primitive grandeur. Her abstract monotypes are decorative enough, but they don't speak to anything but my eyes.
Something for everyone
Artists' House Gallery always presents work by a variety of its members, so there's something for everyone—not the worst approach to running a gallery.
This time around, Artists' House highlights the work of seven member artists. The front gallery displays cityscapes by Henry Berkowitz and Patrick Seufert. Berkowitz has an eye attuned to patterns, so he glories in rending fire escapes on aging tenement buildings and tangles of telephone wires. Seufert's eye is drawn to atmospheric effects, and his six large oils are as beautiful a celebration of the magic of winter light as you're likely to find.
More than a portrait
The larger of the two center galleries contain figurative art by Lauren Gidwitz and Aaron Thompson. Gidwitz seems more taken with atmosphere. Vessel is certainly an example of a portrait that becomes a bit more than a mere likeness. I also admired her small study of a cotton plant.
Aaron Thompson used his seven selections to present a variety of genres. These include a self-portrait, some figurative studies, some still lifes and even a cityscape.
In the smaller center gallery, Alice Dustin offers 13 floral pieces that exude a lovely "old-fashioned" feel. They're graceful and classically composed—just looking at them.
A "'what the heck' artist
Then comes the rear gallery, where Brian Burt quickly shakes you up again with his small but quirky arrangements of disparate objects in a single frame. Crayons and Pez dispensers, oil cans and potatoes— Burt sees to it that your eyes never get too drowsy. He's one of those real "what the heck" artists—and they're always good to have around.
Rounding out the group show is my personal favorite, Deborah Placko, whose dreamy, swoony landscapes draw you into them with an enchanter's spell. She proves that a work of art need not fill a wall to captivate the mind.
She also does animals; her studies of birds are quite fascinating, with her quirky "splotchy" brushwork splendidly conveying a sense of arrested motion.
Anne Marble Caramanico's monotypes of people reflect a sort of primitive grandeur. Her abstract monotypes are decorative enough, but they don't speak to anything but my eyes.
Something for everyone
Artists' House Gallery always presents work by a variety of its members, so there's something for everyone—not the worst approach to running a gallery.
This time around, Artists' House highlights the work of seven member artists. The front gallery displays cityscapes by Henry Berkowitz and Patrick Seufert. Berkowitz has an eye attuned to patterns, so he glories in rending fire escapes on aging tenement buildings and tangles of telephone wires. Seufert's eye is drawn to atmospheric effects, and his six large oils are as beautiful a celebration of the magic of winter light as you're likely to find.
More than a portrait
The larger of the two center galleries contain figurative art by Lauren Gidwitz and Aaron Thompson. Gidwitz seems more taken with atmosphere. Vessel is certainly an example of a portrait that becomes a bit more than a mere likeness. I also admired her small study of a cotton plant.
Aaron Thompson used his seven selections to present a variety of genres. These include a self-portrait, some figurative studies, some still lifes and even a cityscape.
In the smaller center gallery, Alice Dustin offers 13 floral pieces that exude a lovely "old-fashioned" feel. They're graceful and classically composed—just looking at them.
A "'what the heck' artist
Then comes the rear gallery, where Brian Burt quickly shakes you up again with his small but quirky arrangements of disparate objects in a single frame. Crayons and Pez dispensers, oil cans and potatoes— Burt sees to it that your eyes never get too drowsy. He's one of those real "what the heck" artists—and they're always good to have around.
Rounding out the group show is my personal favorite, Deborah Placko, whose dreamy, swoony landscapes draw you into them with an enchanter's spell. She proves that a work of art need not fill a wall to captivate the mind.
What, When, Where
Anna Marble Caramanico, “Monotypes,†and Georganna Lenssen, “Recent Oils.†Through October 2, 2011 at Rosenfeld Gallery, 113 Arch St. (215) 922-1376 or www.therosenfeldgallery.com.
Group show. Through October 2, 2011 at Artists’ House Gallery, 57 N. Second St. (215) 923-8440 or www.artistshouse.com.
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