Landscapes, Love and Looms

originally published December 17, 2008

“Electric Landscapes”: A group of paintings by Mary Porter on view at White Tiger Gourmet depicts generic scenes such as woods, gardens and neighborhood streets. All are rendered in a loose, suggestive manner that relies on the tradition of Impressionism: light plays a central role and color is subtly exaggerated. Sometimes Porter’s use of color, as well as her use of bold, black outlines, takes on an Expressionistic quality, as in a painting of a densely wooded forest that gives way to an open field. In images such as this one, darks and lights are heightened and color takes on an almost Fauvist, Matisse-like intensity that I think serves her well. But most landscapes by Porter in this show, such as a picture of a local site, “Boulevard Overlooking Nacoochee,” favor a comfortable and serene palette. Though there is nothing particularly innovative about Porter’s work, the paintings are as pleasant as the well groomed, tree-lined paths they depict and work well in the White Tiger space - a site just around the corner from the gardens and shady streets showcased on her canvases.

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Local Color: Just as local scenery appears in Porter’s work, recent paintings by Jennifer Hartley feature familiar local faces. The work that makes up “Embraces and Other Short Stories” on display at Flicker Bar & Theatre shows a variation of the same motif - two figures, most embracing, against a solid-colored background. Some are couples, some friends, but the emphasis in all is the relationship between the two. Painted with an Expressionistic looseness, Hartley’s figures have an intentional awkwardness akin to Eric Fischl’s figural paintings, though Hartley’s have a warmth antithetical to his aloof and often dark vision of humanity. Her strongest works are located toward the front of the bar; a few toward the back feel less finished and less compelling in the relationship between the two figures. Overall, Hartley seems to successfully convey the complex continuum of love - both platonic and romantic - that binds people together.

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Speaking of Binding...: The Madison-Morgan Cultural Center’s “hand.craft.it” exhibition is devoted to the increasing trendiness of crocheting, knitting, sewing, ceramics and other forms of craft-making. Of course, these are means of making everyday objects such as dishware and scarves, and for that reason crafts have been excluded - or at least given inferior status - from conventional hierarchies of art. Also, there are messy associations with which to contend: femininity (traditionally women made household objects; men made Art with a capital A) and functionality - since many of these objects have everyday uses, and in the West, we don’t like our Art to be very useful. These are issues that have been addressed since at least the turn of the 20th century, but crafting is an arena that has once again gained a lot of attention recently, and “hand.craft.it” is a prime example of this phenomenon, featuring local artists alongside artists from as far away as Sweden.

Most of the work in “hand.craft.it” seems recognizable in one way or another, not only because of the ubiquity of these types of objects, but also because some of the artists represented do design work for the likes of Urban Outfitters: crocheted cupcakes, tiny watercolors of dresses hanging off of free-floating hangers, hand-stitched clothing made from recycled garments, and decorated cups and plates make up a majority of the show. But “hand.craft.it” also includes a fair share of painting, drawing and printmaking that is included for its kitsch-embracing, creepy-cute imagery and DIY aesthetic, rather, I suppose, than because of its means of production.

Athens’ Rizzie Gallego’s work is a good example. A series of small paintings on raw wood each features an anthropomorphic animal persona in a minimal but character-defining setting. “Coffee” shows a rodent-like creature in a blue turtleneck sipping coffee standing in front of a blazing fireplace that is decorated with a mounted deer head. Another strange creature, the hirsute “Wolfman,” looks like Cousin It transplanted to a path in a forest of leafless trees. Gallego also includes two handcrafted purses - also featuring animal motifs - in the show, but the majority of her work in the gallery qualifies as painting though its subject matter seems intentionally low-brow. Also from Athens and working in a mode that seems to belong to conventional art-making, Megan Boling’s “Antecedent Salve for the Bread and Butter,” consists of large, almost life-size relief prints hanging from the ceiling. Each is cut into the shape of a man or a woman in clothing from the 1930s or '40s. Behind the two color prints are black and white replicas that serve as doubles or shadows of the hanging couple. As suggested by Gallego’s or Boling’s work, the inclusion of paintings and prints attests to the all-inclusive impulse that drives craft-making artists to push the boundaries of fine art to include traditional crafts.

Perhaps the strongest work in “hand.craft.it” (or, at least my personal favorites) are Megan Bogonovich’s ceramic sculptures. At first glance, the white ceramic objects look like slip-mold trinkets - miniature lambs and angels that someone’s grandmother threw away - that you could find on the shelves of The Potter’s House. But Bogonovich’s animals are all hybrid creatures - to name a few: “Chipmunk Lady,” “Squirrel Gal” and “Reclining Deer Man.” Her “Six-Legged Lamb” seems to bear the imprint of genetic engineering and is, tellingly, the same species as the infamous cloned sheep, Dolly. To her advantage, Bogonovich doesn’t get didactic with her sculptures, rather she simply creates seemingly innocuous forms that are pretty and innocent as well as creepy and scary. The hybridity of Bogonovich’s work ultimately reflects the inherent dual nature of the show, not only the merging of art and craft, but also the relationship of handmade objects to an increasingly digital culture. As suggested by the show’s title, “hand.craft.it,” which looks like the link to a website, the relationship is complicated: a revival of interest seems to come from a rejection of technology and mass-production, but crafts are often sold online through Etsy's website and, like the artists that do commission work for Urban Outfitters, these mass-produced objects court a hand-crafted aesthetic.

Rebecca Brantley