Way Center's "Out Loud and Proud'

Finding the nuggets in
the Way Center's mixed bag

ANNE R. FABBRI

Have you ever yearned to be a Forty-Niner panning for gold out West? Finding some shining nuggets among the grains of sand? You can do it now; just transpose art for that shining yellow stuff and head for "Out Loud and Proud," an exhibition celebrating the 30th anniversary of the William Way Community Center with works by 35 emerging and established local lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans-sexual artists. It’s a crowded, mixed bag of work interspersed with some gems that make the trip worthwhile. I awarded stars to more than half— not always the ones you’d expect.

As organized by the center’s art committee (headed by Thom Duffy and David Alan Perkiss), the proposed exhibition expanded beyond the original 30 artists. Unfortunately, it outgrew its limited space and now suffers from overcrowding and weakened caliber. The gold nuggets are still there, but you must sift a bit to find them.

My check list—paintings, prints and photographs, with a few pieces of sculpture that seem like after-thoughts— begins to the left of the entrance, so let’s look: Pins and Needles, by Robert Goodman (40-inch-square oil and acrylic canvas) sets a lively tone for the show. It’s upbeat and stimulating, a colorful abstract painting that exudes energy beyond its boundaries. Look at Philip George Mott’s Study for Big Across the Middle, with its thick, textured shades of red paint bordering an infinite red depth. It’s mesmerizing. Deborah Caiola’s Can’t Touch This is something you’d find in Chelsea: a beautifully painted green bird (perhaps a parrot) with a red flower in its crown, wearing a pearl necklace with a pendant cross. It deserves one of the “Best in Show” awards, if there were any.

Stand and savor

Look for Keith Breitfeller’s 52707-A40x40, a dense black-and-red abstract square canvas that lightens toward the top in a seemingly hopeful note. Roses and Flambé Vase by Frank Trefny is a beautifully painted still life that makes you want to just stand and savor it before moving on. Barbara Sosson’s oil-on-wood panel, The Vineyard, got it right with the color of Tuscan farmhouses, but I thought the vineyards actually reflected a more grayed green. It could be a faulty memory on my part.

One of two works that stayed with me for hours was the woodblock print Dirty Hands by Christopher Hartshorne. Yes, it’s like something from the American regional realism of the 1930s in black and white, with enlarged hands for emphasis, poignant and moving in an unexpected way. I’ll look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

A silver gelatin print photograph, Academic Nudes (Tomas), by Gabriel Martinez, radiates sensuality. I liked the contrast between the beautiful, young male figure and the prosaic studio accoutrements surrounding him.

Masterpiece of printmaking

Another “Best in Show” award would go to Daniel Heyman for David – Top, a linocut on Awagami paper. It’s a flat, black torso of a young male against a vibrant background of short patterned lines against reds and yellows. The image is striking in its simplicity, a masterpiece of printmaking.

The final corner of the room contains so many treasures that it’s practically a show in itself. Rochelle Toner has two watercolor drawings, Scallop and Tilt, that attest to the skill of the artist with perspective and textured patterning. Stranded – Dockside, by Charles Kalick (acrylic on museum board, 40” x 32”), is another “Best in Show.” The surface paint strokes have the texture of raffia against a multi-colored background, with an abstract, patterned center rectangle in brilliant, thick, narrow lines of paint.

Gentle movement of the sky

Richard Torchia’s Silver Linings, clouds traced with colored pencil on mylar in camera oscura, for ten minutes on a certain date, has a lively delicacy. You can almost feel the gentle movement in the sky. Justin Johnson’s Still Life with Bird Skull is a skillful silverpoint drawing on prepared paper relating pod shapes and bird forms into a lyrical whole. Ron Rumford’s Fishtail creates a masterful three-part mono print with chine colle. Bill Scott’s Landscape with Trees, a drypoint in six colors, looked great from a distance but was hung too high for close inspection and further interrupted by reflections from the overhead lighting. Zoe Strauss and Corliss Cavalieri close the show on a high note.

Although the LGBT definition now seems an outmoded criterion for an exhibition, this can be justified by the anniversary celebration. Next I would like to see a show with a theme, a point to it. I’ll keep you posted.