Kim Flora at The PAC Gallery

The recent series of Kim Flora's encaustic works currently on display at the PAC Gallery are inspired by reminiscences of her childhood near Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.  The works in which this is particularly evident (for the seaside in general, for the artist also claims influences from West Coast sojourns) are ones featuring swathes of blue and oceanline (such as untitled coastline along highway 1, 2009), elements of constructs (such as a long, cold journey east, 2009) or both (city on a hill, 2009).  In the latter, and many like it, the bridge structure seems to emerge out of a mist, a common result of the wax layering technique.  Overall, the colors are often split between peaceful monochromatic variations or bold contrasts in bright colors.

Her desire to create images of her past imply a sense of longing, and even loss. The bridge-form is typically  symbolic in art of the striving to connect, yet it also presupposes distance and separation.  The monochrome renders the compositions utilizing it especially with this sense.  Furthermore, the particular bridge that appears in her compositions seems much like the ruin of a building, or even broken scaffolding

(especially for those unfamiliar   with the actual structure).  Consequently, it gives the sense of the destruction of nature upon artificial forms, like the remnants of antique monuments disappearing into oblivion.  For my sensibilities, the expressive melancholy of the ruin, the mist-like layerings, and the bridge symbol give these particular works a haunting and beautiful depth.
It is noteworthy that Chesapeake Bay, our largest estuary, became (according to my Wikipedia pseudo-research) one of the first sites in the 1970s for its oxygen-starved marine dead zone, caused by the excess of algal blooms from industrial waste.  Hence her image of it is (at least partially) idealized, like so many of our childhood memories.

There is visible in this exhibition a variety of directions that the artist seems to be exploring, both thematically and technically.  This may be construed as a strength or weakness; for younger artists, I consider such experimentation laudable.  In terms of a different approach, yet within the vein of the above mentioned psychological work, is Angel Wing #2 (2009).  The dark hue (on its left side) resembles an ocean storm, whereas the clearer patch implies unobstructed ocean sky.  Yet the two together could symbolize light breaking darkness,  heavily suggestive of hope and spiritual succor, appropriate in the context of the longings in some of her other work.
-A.C. Frabetti

'Personal Vistas: New Paintings by Kim Flora' at The PAC Gallery, 2540 Woodburn Avenue, Cincinnati. Gallery hours: Friday and Saturday 2:00 - 7:00 p.m. Sunday 12:00 - 4:00 p.m.  Call 513.321.5200 for more information. Exhibition continues through February 27, 2010.
Partial online slideshow: http://www.pacgallery.net/exhibitions/kim-flora/index.html


In photos: Above, a long, cold journey east, 2009. Mixed media and encaustic on panel, 10” x 12”.  Photo courtesy of the Artist.  Below, angel wing #2, 2009. Mixed media and encaustic on panel, 36x36in. Photo courtesy of PAC Gallery.

Hildebrandt, from Macro to Micro, at Bromwell's Gallery

Evan Hildebrandt's 12 large Cosmic Rocks (2009-2010) canvases dominate his showing at the Bromwell gallery, where he is also its director.  As per the title, the pieces invoke planets on a black background; their heavily textured surfaces easily recall craters.  Colors tend towards the monochromatic, or complementary hues.  The media appears to be heavy resins and pigments, with other elements such as gold leaf (in some compositions).

But the black backdrop contains no stars, and could just as easily be interpreted as the unlit surround of the round lens of a view through a microscope.   In such a case the works would invoke the closeup of cellular organisms.  The scale of his compositions suddenly shifts from the macro to the micro. (Hildebrandt  mentions this somewhat in his statement.) This interpretative play is one of their strengths; the other is how they rest as a group.

Formally, his work is strongest when the texture is not overly exaggerated (in which case the artist's zeal for it overwhelms the composition).  Some of the Cosmic Rocks pieces have a balance between flat plains and the rich texture; the flat plains allow the eye to rest, and through contrast bring out a greater appreciation of the form.
Other works fill out his space, such as Side View (2009) opposite the Cosmic Rocks.  The texture of Side View has elements united in large swaths, creating a pleasing symmetry.  It is good example of how the strong textures become part of a greater composition.
-A.C. Frabetti

Evan Hildebrandt.  'The Struggle to Become Who We Already Are: New Works at Bromwell's Gallery, 117 W Fourth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, 513-315-4622.  Gallery hours 9am-5pm Monday through Saturday, or by appointment. Through March 6.
Also featuring a lecture on March 3rd from 7-9pm by Dean Regas, Outreach Astronomer, Cincinnati Observatory Center.
For an installation video of the current show, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShyVQurgNlY.
Photo: Cosmic Rocks 1-12 (2009-2010), mixed media, 60x60in. each.  Photo courtesy of the artist.

Conceptions Underlying Griga's New Work at Prairie

Peiter Griga exhibits his latest work about memory, from physical objects to a performance piece.  It features Storage #1, beeswax-castings of VHS tapes (to represent memory); Retrieval #1, a videocast of a Beuys-inspired pseudo-ritual involving regurgitating honey into bowls (drawn conceptually from ancient mummification practices); wall photos of individuals, slightly obfuscated, representing the slow arrival of oblivion; and a slide show of near-unrecognizable images from (his childhood?) on a wall space treated with beeswax.  Et. al.

Griga's work stimulated me as a cultural expression of the logic that people use to explain their conception of cognition, and the respondent pseudo-spiritual practices that arise unconsciously from it. For his conception of memory is arid and mechanical (he admits this).  Many artists produce sentimental works about memory and loss (like Proust); here, it is reduced to a purely physical process.  Griga is doing nothing more than submitting to the mythical-scientific conception of what memory is popularly claimed to be: instead of  an intimate activity of the human spirit which is accompanied by processes in the brain, memory is nothing more than brain processes.  

It is the old paradigm of the human as machine, the principles of the external world of perception projected onto the realm of the soul (the principal of causality and separateness, I see as present in Griga's solipsistic photos purportedly representing memory images: grainy portraits of people alone), a conception in truth outdated since quantum mechanics yet nevertheless persistent in culture.  However, the human spirit longs for something more than an existence without spiritual content, so then—and this is key—it takes refuge in flights of spiritism: in the case of this exhibition, it is a haunting pseudo-ritual recorded on video, or striving to personalize the VHS castings with blood, and more.  The two go hand-in-hand: a deadened view of the world, the compensatory bizarre spiritism of old religious fanaticism, shamanism, and New Age chakra mysticism.  Both are violent conceptions/activities (or passivities) to the human spirit.  It is profoundly disturbing to see it brought out so honestly in an exhibition/performance.
-A.C. Frabetti

I CANNOT REMEMBER ALL THAT I HAVE FORGOTTEN, New Work by Peiter Griga, Opening January 22, 6pm, Continuing through March 6, 2010 at Prairie, 4035 Hamilton Avenue in Northside. 557-3819. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday 10-6 and Saturday 10-4.
Photo: exhibition view, courtesy of Prairie.

Bolotin at the Carl Solway Gallery

   Jay Bolotin is no stranger to the Cincinnati audience.  His strong-willed persistence in the realization of long-term creative projects, such as Limbus: A Mechanical Opera, is inspiring.  Currently on display at Solway is the developmental stage of the second part of his woodcut-to-video fable, The Jackleg Testament.
  The first room features his original graphite drawings, the eventual illustrations for his unusual narrative.  Their style is grotesque but not ugly, featuring exaggerations of sensual features such as lips and eyes.  Their hard outlines arise from both the woodcut process and the conception for the eventual animation.  As part of the revelation of his process, Bolotin has covered much of the wall with the hand-written text of the fable.  The handwriting, curiously, serves as a softening balance to the strongly delineated images, whereas in the first installment of his video, computer fonts were used.
   Other works stand out in this exhibition, including massive castings in either plaster or white paper (part of his 'Leaves From a Cast Paper Novel').  Jay's opus merits a deep study in the artist's use of surreal and alchemical symbolism, as well as his inspiration from such filmmakers as Švankmajer and Kentridge; in this short format I can at best encourage a gallery visit.
-A.C. Frabetti

(Special thanks to Emily Buddendeck for her suggestions)
(Corrigendum:  I had originally referred to Bolotin's original graphite drawings as reproductions.  This has now been corrected above)

Jay Bolotin, 'Leaves From a Cast Paper Novel' at the Carl Solway Gallery, 424 Findlay Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45214. Phone: 513-621-0069.  Through April 10, 2010.
Also featuring Jerry Uelsmann: 'Black & White Photographs.'
In Photo: Exhibition view of 'Leaves From a Cast Paper Novel' by Jay Bolotin, courtesy of the Carl Solway Gallery.

Cedric Michael Cox at the Carnegie

Though Cedric uses the term 'quilt' to describe in part his approach to his paintings, they could just as easily be mosaics, or even stained glass, given their use of dark lines separating the colors. For example, in Visions on Elm (2009) the color hues are sensitively worked so that the overall effect of the ochre, blue and sienna earth tones are harmoniously balanced within the composition (we could make a stretch and see in these colors a delicately muted Pan-African palette). This is necessary since the geometrical lines fervidly populate the whole canvas. Within those lines some are carefully parallel, creating calming rectangles, whereas one may find triangles and even circles (and arches). Though Cedric's inspiration comes from living downtown, his focus on its neoclassical architectural elements (such as the Ionic capitals, Gothic cornices and numerous stairwells) reminds one of an old European city.

I noticed that in most of his paintings the lines seem to fit on a grid-like structure. The painting Reflections (2008) stood out as an instance of departing from this tendency. Also note the presence of an oak tree in some works, the tree seamlessly blending with the surround. It is nature and polis, as one.
-A.C. Frabettii

[Note: there are many other excellent artists showing currently at the Carnegie]


Cedric Michael Cox.  'Urban Rapture,' The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center, 1028 Scott Blvd.
Covington, KY.  Jan 8-Feb 19, 2010.  Also currently showing work at the UnMuseum at the Contemporary Art Center.  Visit his web site by clicking here.
In Photo: Visions on Elm, 2009.  Acrylic on Stretched Canvas, 48inx48in. Photo from artist's web site.

Victor Strunk at Gallerie Zaum

Prevention for an Accident (2009) features a curious paper-mâché styled head appended voodoo-like to a found-object 'body' comprised of black-painted wood, a pair of wheels, broken glass and an inverted thermometer.  The figure appears to have been in an accident, or likely to get in one given the disharmony of the wheel heights.   The head seems to imitate some personage, the rest a narrative for its 'world,' or personality.  The head seems like a separate entity, but does carry a subtle relationship to the rest of the composition (e.g. in Flea Market Aphrodite (2009), the head is flat, like the whole).

In all, these qualities (including the overall dominant naive or primitive aesthetic) give Strunk's sculpture and his others an uncanny quality.  I am reminded of Freud's writings on this term: familiar yet unfamiliar experience that is a return of repressed infantile psychic content.  I am not sure how apropos such a Freudian interpretation would be of his work.  However, the formal features symbolize the severance of the mature ego (the head) from the rest of the body (representing the unconscious).  In any event, many such sculptures fill a portion of a sizable wall in Gallery Zaum.   They enthrall, in their uncanny way.
-A.C. Frabetti


'Victor Strunk: An Exhibition of Paintings and Sculptures Infused with Mojo'. Closing reception Saturday, January 30 from 6-9 pm. Gallerie Zaum, 811 monmouth St., Newport, Ky. 41071. 859-441-3838.

In photo: Prevention for an Accident, 2009.  Mixed media, approx. 2' height.  Photo courtesy of Gallerie Zaum.