Fast Lane Art 1st Place Winner Maria Ruoff

Artist Maria Ruoff with "Jazzy Fish" 1st place winner for Fast Lane Art billboard competition and fundraiser

Review of "Ron Schira: Ambience and Noise" at Clay on Main Gallery.

 Ambience and Noise: Artworks by Ron Schira

Chaos and Order - Acrylic on Canvas - 24 x 30 Inches

By Kristen Woodward
Professor of Art, Albright College

 Ron Schira’s paintings on display at Clay on Main in Oley this month cajole us into their formalistic banter with juicy blocks of ochre, crimson and blue.  In an exhibit aptly titled Ambience and Noise, Schira presents dazzling non-objective works alongside appreciably quieter compositions.  Despite the dominance of their geometric color blocking, the work overall maintains a haptic, gestural sensibility that reads as highly personal and appealing.  Edges don’t quite meet along straight boundaries- and it’s in these faint wavering threads that the viewer senses not reluctance, but a contemplative engagement with media and process.  These are painters’ paintings. Brushstrokes are visible, but restrained.  I found it curious to see the disparity in scale, by in large preferring the smaller intimate pieces.  


 

Snakecharmer - Acrylic on Canvas - 48 x 60 inches

 The larger paintings such as Snakecharmer exert a bold confidence with shards of multi-colored triangles, but it’s the modest and often untitled pieces that command the space.  Also of note were the colored pencil drawings on found supports.  Fluid explorations on commercially printed ledger papers, they subverted the rigidity of the pre-ruled lines. Perhaps because of this underlying structure, or in reaction to it, Schira’s works became decidedly more lyrical in this series. While the painterly marks don’t exactly deny the printed material, I was left to question if there was a conceptual counter play against the idea of totaling the sum and worth of drawing, painting or art as vocation, or if the support was merely a ubiquitous available surface.  The casual presentation of these pieces tacked to the wall in bi-folding pairs underscores the way we experience an open book.  The white oval scalloped center line remaining from spiral binding is a vestige of connection no longer needed to be understood.  I found it satisfying that these drawings functioned as diptyches, but the duality of two disrupted but equal halves could reference other measures- of equality, time, worth, or natural symmetry.  Luckily there’s room in this series to contemplate layers of intentionality without disrupting the formal design presence. 

Ledger #5 - Gouache and Colored Pencil on Paper - 14 x22 inches

Ambience and Noise: Artworks by Ron Schira was shown at Clay On Main Gallery from February 10 through March 24.

Kristen Woodward's work may be seen at:
 

www.kristentwoodward.com

Profile: Elaine Soltis - Artist

Blog Post - March 16, 2013

Okay, I have to admit I've been lax with my blog and there have been some strong exhibits in the area, so I am going to throw art at you. 

When I have more time I will approach it more scholarly, but until such time arises and not much longer from now, I would like you to enjoy these mixed media works by Elaine Soltis, an artist with a studio in the GoggleWorks.
 Elaine uses a variety of paint, glues, glitter, collage and attachment in her painting process, including such things as coffee grinds, strings and found sea glass mixed into her medium for texture and a near sculptural appearance.  

She also hosts the Lively Arts TV show for Berks Community Television and holds a course on decoupage at the GoggleWorks. Here is a photo of Elaine Soltis in her studio.

Take Five by Anne Heimann at Judy's on Cherry

“Take Five,” a large sculpture by the late artist Anne Heimann was on view at Judy’s on Cherry Restaurant in Reading PA through the course of the Berks Arts Council Jazz Fest and remains there on semi-permanent loan from Jim Hubbard, Heimann’s husband.  The piece is displayed eight foot high in the restaurant’s front foyer.

The 1970's artwork is a ten-foot-wide assemblage of three musicians taking a break from their rehearsal.  Constructed of real wooden chairs, hooked wool, a music stand, life-size painted plywood cut-outs of the figures, and an actual tarnished trombone, Heimann had created a mise-en-scène where the musicians gaze expectantly at their visitor for a musical request.

The woman on the left is Heimann’s self portrait.  Both her as well as the drummer, are masked in Mardi Gras frivolity.  “Take Five,” is also the name of a famous jazz tune by the Dave Brubeck Quartet.  The work is also for sale through the restaurant.

Heimann and her husband lived in New Orleans for a time and traveled the world photo-documenting the cultures and lifestyles of the Middle East, moving later to the Tribeca neighborhood of New York City, where she plied her artistry for over thirty years, then moving to Pennsylvania ten years ago.  She passed away two years ago in Reading.

Paintings by Dolores Kirschner at the New Arts Program

 At the New Arts Program (173 West Main Street Kutztown PA) the "Paintings" of Dolores Kirschner are on view for the months of May and June 2012.  Regardless that these are ceramic tiles, the artist refers to them as paintings since they approach her goals of surface, subdued color and coarse texture. That they bear a basically rectangular shape and hang on the wall also adds to that premise.  About twenty untitled pieces are on view and vary in size from an approximate six to ten inches square.  Kirschner is proprietor and director of Clay on Main Gallery in Oley Pa where they teach ceramic process, pottery and host both workshops and exhibits.    

Reading Public Museum adds Barret Sculpture to Arboretum

Reading Public Museum unveiled its latest temporary addition to The Museum grounds. The fabricated bronze sculpture LEXEME IX (aka 9/11), was created by sculptor Bill Barrett in 2006, and stands 9’6” H x 6’6” W x 5’ D.  During its two-year loan from the artist’s collection, the sculpture is located on the banks of the Wyomissing Creek in front of The Museum, along the path that winds through the Arboretum. The sculpture, as well as others in the LEXEME series, was created as a means to commemorate the tragic events of 9/11, and was previously on display in Finn Park Square in Tribeca, New York City. In addition, a cast bronze maquette of the sculpture will be on display in the Cohen Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Frank Wysochansky (Wyso) at Yocum Institute for Art Education and the GoggleWorks Art Center

Frank Wyso;  Monk Series

Wyso (1915-1994) lived in the coal mining area of Lackawanna Township Pennsylvania and documented their lifestyle. Basically an outsider artist with minimal training, he created many of his pieces by melting crayons onto paper and scraping away the image in a scratchboard technique. His sculptures were made of found detritus and shaped with resin. Inspired by his brother, who led a monastic life, he also made a series of works on monks.  These were shown at the GoggleWorks in Reading PA with a separate series of miners shown at the Yocum Institute in Wyomissing Pa.