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'Inner Circles' exhibit stretches and burns
By
Geoff Gehman
Of The Morning Call
February 12, 2004
Kutztown
University's ''Inner
Circles'' is a
playground for a
universal sign of
unity. Six
Philadelphians
preserve circles in
shellac, sink
circles in concrete,
use circles to
represent the
afterlife. It's the
kind of exhibit
where the wheel of
life burns rubber
and sticks in the
sand.
Michelle Marcuse
stretches circles
into ovals on waxed,
shaped Masonite
mentalscapes. ''The
New Weight,'' for
example, is a
T-shaped canvas with
a shiny black seal
that hinges the two
blocks and a milky
ring. Marcuse
thoughtfully leaves
her drawing exposed,
declining to choke
it with encaustic.
The result is a
skin-like relief
that breathes.
Tremain Smith keeps
circles in limbo
under transparent,
low-fired layers of
oil, wax and
collage. Some of
these segmented
panels resemble
crazily registered
prints; others
resemble posters
puckered with age.
All have fine
elemental reactions
and a fascinating
peek at the
archaeology of art.
Curator Debra
Miller, a professor
of art history at
Rutgers University,
must like wax, for a
third artist,
Vincent Romaniello,
contributes waxed
oils on linen and
birch panel. He
offers pale views of
vague skies, marked
by watery dots and
rusty sunspots.
While the sandy
textures are
compelling, there's
not enough contrast
to justify six
variations on a thin
theme.
David Foss' messy,
controlled abstract
paintings are much
juicier. In ''#7,''
metallic powder and
amber shellac create
a combustive cluster
of saffron shooting
stars. In ''#5,'' an
amberized poppy form
floats seductively
near the center of a
strikingly
distressed silver
field -- a sort of
spray-painted cave
wall.
Foss weakens his
explosion/implosions
with cartoonish
black-gray bubbles.
They reduce his
graffiti fireworks
to rough, square
wallpaper samples.
Antonio Puri jumps
circles through the
most hoops. His
''#5'' is a
mixed-media wall
cloth starring
splashy rings. It
could be a target
for pilots, or a
board game for gods.
''Mitosis of the
Soul'' is a huge
mixed-media unframed
canvas of a cell
splitting to reveal
a sphere. Speedy
stripes and starry
rain beads give it a
nice galactic
whoosh.
Puri toys with two
types of shrine in
''Conversation with
Pollock.'' Three
scrolls, inspired by
prayer flags at
Tibetan temples, are
covered in
red/black/gray
drips, inspired by
Jackson Pollock's
signature style.
Circles near the top
of the scrolls
symbolize the
pleasant afterlife
of Pollock and other
tortured souls. A
table heaped with
plastered string is
a humorously burnt
offering to anyone
who dismisses
Pollock's drip
paintings as
spaghetti.
The show's single
sculptor, James
Fuhrman, shapes
space with
welded-steel
objects. Jagged
bowls are enjoyably
plastic.
Stainless-steel
rings submerged in
concrete chunks
nicely conjure an
Irish ring fort. A
half circle of
miniature, sheared
monuments works very
well as a Zen
garden.
An overabundance of
Fuhrman pieces
suggests a separate
show, one more on
the boundary of fine
art and craft. The
imbalance throws the
circle concept for a
loop.
''Inner Circles,''
through Feb. 29,
Sharadin Art
Gallery, Kutztown
University, near
West Main Street and
College Boulevard,
Kutztown. Hours: 10
a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tuesday-Friday, noon
to 4 p.m. Saturday,
2-4 p.m. Sunday.
610-683-4546,
www.kutztown.edu/acad/artgallery.