Common Threads

originally published March 21, 2007

Abstract Embroidery: “ Modern Threads: Fashion and Art by Mariska Karasz ” is on view at the Georgia Museum of Art (GMOA) until Apr. 15. The exhibit includes samples of work from the various facets of Hungarian-born Karasz’s career, from a designer of woman’s fashions in the 1920s, and children’s clothing in the 1930s, to a fiber artist 20 years later. It is Karasz’s abstract embroidered wall-hangings that seem most at home in the museum setting. “Split Level Ark” references a grid with a compositional attitude similar to Paul Klee’s paintings. “Star Clouds” is a needlework collage with squares of orange accenting an otherwise neutral palette. Karasz authored a book titled Adventures in Stitches: A New Art of Embroidery , and is credited with encouraging a revival of needlework in America and initiating a creative approach to the field. Any fine artist working with abstract forms would greatly benefit from viewing “Modern Threads . ” See www.uga.edu/gamuseum for more information.

Music and Dance: A combination of music and art contributes to the vibrancy of Athens. This combination is represented in "Music and Dance , " Mike White ’s and William Cary Whitley ’s photography show at Mercury Lounge . White's and Whitley’s photos of bands have been used as posters and fliers. The show at Mercury Lounge offers viewers a chance to see the work as a cohesive set, and consider the artistic quality of the individual photos. Whitley has included photographs of trapeze artists and a belly dancer with his band shots. Among the bands with images included in the show are Altruizine, Deerhoof, Don Chambers, Drive-By Truckers, Hey! Revolution, Liz Durrett and Tin Cup Prophette. The show runs until Apr. 10. See www.deadlydesigns.com and www.worldlooksred.com for more samples of their work.

Haunting Portraits: Brandy Levens has work on display at Nuçi’s Space through Mar. 27. Titled “ The People in My Head Who Haunt Me ,” the portraits are primarily in black ink on white paper, and communicate a riveting psychological force with a minimum amount of visual information. Portraits such as “Oozie,”

“Paul” and “Elizabeth” depict faces with standardized marks such as almond-shaped eyes and round nostrils, combining an innocent child-like quality with a emotional strength. In “Escape,” Levens adds an additional compositional element to her visual vocabulary; a ladder-like shape marches out of a mouth as a secret in need of release. Levens will soon graduate with a BFA in Painting and Drawing from UGA.

Parisian Refuses: Clayton Street Gallery , above Frameworks on Clayton Street, is currently exhibiting work by entrants to the Lyndon House Art Center’s Juried Exhibit whose work was not selected by the juror. Several of the participants in the show also have work in the LHAC show, such as Stanley Bermudez , Krysia Haag , D.M. Kirwin , Beth Thompson , Kyle Hebling , J Phillip White and Joey McCain . The exhibit includes a wide of variety of artists working in many media: oil and acrylic paintings, sculptures, photography, mixed-media, and more. Tyrus Lytton ’s two oil paintings leave large portions of unprimed linen bare as an important compositional element. Njambi Mwaura ’s “Desolate” depicts a solitary figure in a desert, with a skull at her feet. Stacy Isenbarger ’s “Ring Bearer,” fashioned from Georgia marble and iron, juxtaposes a marble pillow seemingly soft enough for sleep, with a withered iron finger adequate for nightmares. Photographs by Donald Ross Hart , Victor Paul and Carole Henry are among the many representatives of the medium in the exhibit. Janet Yoder ’s “Vintage Vignette” is a Polaroid transfer covered with lace in a frame that looks like it was made from the antique furniture in the photograph. Kenny Aguar ’s mixed-media “Separation Anxiety” plays with intimacy and anatomy. John W. English ’s “Harmonic Balance” and “Effective Public Relations” create visual puns out of manipulated found materials. Some of the entries have titles as provocative as the piece, for instance, Daniel Crocco ’s “Hierarchy of Economic Disassociation,” and Talia Bromstad ’s “I have birds for hands. They surprise me when I see them in the mirror.” Hurry to see the show before it ends on Mar. 24.

Spirit of the Land: “ Spirit of the Land ,” an exhibit organized as a benefit for the Athens Land Trust and the Oconee River Land Trust , opens with a reception on Sunday, Mar. 25, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., in the State Botanical Garden Conservatory . Artists included in the exhibition are Margaret Agner, Kenny Aguar, Rinne Allen, June Ball, Elizabeth Barton, Amy Bramblett, Alan Campbell, Toni Carlucci, Nancy Carter, John Cleaveland, Sally Coenen, Jen Graff, Flo Gross Applefield, Carol John, Philip Juras, David Lindsay, Dianne Penny, Scott Pope, Mary Porter, René Shoemaker, Jackie Slayton, Margie Spalding, Michael Stipe, Jim StipeMaas, Jason Thrasher, Lamar Wood and The Cap Man . The exhibit will be up for a week, before being auctioned at the gala benefit on Mar. 31, with a portion of the profits going back to the contributing artists. See Out There! for more information, or call 706-552-3138 or 706-613-0122.

ATHICA Opening: There will be an opening reception for the exhibit titled “ Ruburbs & Other Spaces In Between: Land Use and Environmentalism ” on Saturday, Mar. 31, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Athens Institute for Contemporary Art . The exhibit, curated by Quinn Gorman and Sage Rogers , includes work by local artist Jenn Manzella , as well as work by Steven Bleicher, Gary Carlos, Jay Critchley, Terri Dilling, Cheryl Gilge, Karen Hennessee, Bryan Hiott, Ellen Jantzen, Carol LaFayette, Catherine Plaisance and Marco Villani . “Ruburbs & Other Spaces In Between” will be on view through May 27. Visit www.athica.org for more information.

Beth Sale

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