Opening Fri 6/21 @ 5 – 11pm
By Josh Usmani
The topic of human curiosity is dissected in Curious Things, a 4-person exhibition opening this Fri 6/21 from 5-11pm at Survival Kit as part of 78th St Studio’s Third Friday monthly event. The show features the work of local artists Christi Birchfield, Adrienne Slane, Douglas Max Utter and Nikki Woods.
Christi Birchfield’s work combines atmospheric qualities with strong textures and dynamic lines. Sometimes her compositions include obvious imagery but some of her more abstract compositions appear completely non-objective. She received her BFA from Cleveland Institute of Art and her MFA from Columbia University. She seems to be seeking more to evoke a strong emotional response than present a narrative or semiotic symbols.
Emotion is a common theme running throughout this exhibition. While each artist approaches their work differently, their divergent results each share a strong emotional quality.
Adrienne Slane’s work is the most decorative of the group. She creates intricately precise, geometric compositions using collaged elements on paper. Sometimes her compositions are laid out similar to mandalas, but sometimes they have a more free and whimsical layout.
Slane says of her work, “I create intricate collages from original vintage illustrations collected from many diverse sources. I combine images of plants, insects, animals, human anatomy, and religious figures into detailed, colorful collages where individual elements fit together like pieces in a puzzle.”.
She continues, “Inspired by the history of the curiosity cabinet, the Victorian concept of memento mori, and Christian iconography and ritual, my work celebrates the beauty and interconnectivity of nature while also acknowledging the cyclical aspect of life, death, and decay. My work blends elements of science, myth, and religion into images that pay homage to the past within a contemporary context.”
Douglas Max Utter is a local legend within Cleveland’s art community. Anyone who has met him (including myself) has nothing but nice things to say. He is probably the most respected living/working artist in Cleveland — not just as an artist, but as a person. He also works as one of the region’s best art critics/writers. This year, he won the prestigious Cleveland Arts Prize’s Lifetime Achievement Award. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the award.
In regards to his more mature work, Utter says, “Since about 2002 I have been pouring paint onto canvas in an effort to push the painted surface toward the eye, and thus re-measure the distances between the illusions created by drawing and the more three-dimensional, bumpy features of the surfaces I prepare. Lately I have painted landscapes with clouds and storms, as well as many heads – anything that bulges and pushes across real space toward the eye. My painting is about presence and urgent encounter, as well as the loss of these; about absence and memory.”
Nikki Woods recently graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art with a BFA in Painting. While attending CIA, her work was featured in numerous juried exhibitions at their Reinberger Galleries, including a first place title in the 65th Annual Student Independent Exhibition in 2011. Currently, through Sat 6/22, her paintings are featured in Dan Tranberg’s Hold the Wall at The Galleries at Cleveland State University.
Wood’s brushwork is highly expressive, often bordering on abstraction. Her work evokes an emotional response from the viewer that just isn’t possible with photorealism. Her aesthetic style adds an extra dimension to her subjects, creating imagery that improves upon reality.
Survival Kit’s owner Alex Tapie (along with partner Brian Straw) said of the show, “Curiosity keeps us alive. In whatever ways it is explored and manifested, it is inescapable.”
She continues, “The work is emotionally resonant, and oddly beautiful. Rich with personal anecdotes, the imagery of each artist is keen evidence of the topics that keep them asking questions: shifting identities, our human understanding of desire, the cosmos, and the strangeness of death.”
Each month it seems like 78th St Studios, as a whole, is raising their collective, proverbial “bar.” If you haven’t checked out a Third Friday in a while, I would highly recommend you stop by this Friday. The crowds seem to keep getting bigger and bigger. There’s an energy in this building during Third Fridays that is unlike any other art venue I’ve been to… in any city. Plus it’s FREE, so bring your friends and family and watch their faces as they “discover” it for the first time.
Most galleries at 78th St Studios close at 10pm, but The Oblique Orchestra will perform two experimental sets inside Survival Kit at the end of the evening until 11pm. As usual, the Touch Suppertruck will be parked right outside the main entrance.
Curious Things opens Fri 6/21 from 5-11pm @ Survival Kit, located inside 78th St Studios, 1305 W. 80th St., Suite 303 (Third Floor), Cleveland. Show runs through 8/16. survivalkitgallery@gmail.com. 216-533-4885. http://SurvivalKitGallery.com
Josh Usmani is a 27 year old local artist, curator and writer. Since 2008, his work has been featured in over 50 local and regional exhibitions.