Feel the Rhythm of Summer
Deborah Rauh, Summertime Chandelier
The current exhibition at the Loft Artists Association on 575 Pacific Street in Stamford, Connecticut, The Rhythm of Summer is hardly your boring show of sleepy seascapes! The exhibit includes a wide variety of artwork created with very diverse materials and unique subject matter pertaining to the summer months.
Deborah Rauh’s Summertime Chandelier (top) is composed of small glass bottles from the 1800’s, glass bird figurines, copper wire and other found objects. The cool hues and how beautifully these items coordinate is what I like most about Summertime Chandelier. The sculpture stands majestically in the center of the front gallery. Where did the artist find these objects? Could a version of this sculpture be placed outside with proper protection against the elements and vandalism?
David Barnett, Showtime: An Homage to Jean-Antoine Watteau
Mixed media artist David Barnett creates Showtime: An Homage to Jean-Antoine Watteau a mixed media marionette puppet statuette from bass wood, tin, carpet thread, modeling clay, acrylic paint, and found objects. David has always “…admired Watteau’s painting entitled Pierrot. There’s a wonderful contrast between the subject’s theatrical costume and his quietly passive, dreamy expression.” If you look closely at the base, it appears to be covered with old newspaper clippings with several tiny numbers. Could this be an old ledger? I am intrigued!
Mark Mulholland, Saving the Trout
Mark Mulholland‘s painting Saving the Trout (above) captures the nostalgia of fishing. We do not see the family members’ faces only their legs adorned with vibrant zig-zag patterns and their footwear is rendered in a transparent abstraction with waves of energy and water visible. The outlines of fish are in the foreground. I didn’t even notice the fish when I viewed the painting in-person, and I had to look at the artwork on my phone a second time to see the trout.
Arthur Really’s wooden wall relief My Garden (below) resembles a farmstand sign. Look again, because it doesn’t say “sun dried tomatoes.” The artwork reads “sun dri-ven tomatoes.” This wall relief is cheeky, fun, yet contemporary, and it rebels against the “Homegoods-esque” signs with trite sayings. I envision this in a kitchen, and it refuses to appear as mass-produced.
Arthur Really, My Garden
Gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday from 1-4pm. The show is on view through August 2nd. Exhibit reviews for Rhythm of Summer will be posted on Art Critic in 1 Minute soon on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
