Elroy Williams, Sabine Carlson, and Evelyn Jacob
Multi-media & Photography
Black Rock Center for the Arts
12901 Town Commons Drive
Germantown, MD 20874.
The Black Rock Arts Center is located in Germantown, MD. The gallery is a perfect space, high ceilings lots of natural light. Although three artists work in different media, The show is provocative as well as meditative.
ELROY WILLIAMS: His large figurative paintings in oil give us a partial glimpse into the lives of individuals at rest and those actively engaged. They are striking for their simplicity. The only jarring aspect from this group of paintings is the two very non-objective paintings which although beautifully executed don’t relate to his other work.
SABINE CARLSON: Her oil paintings are both playful and ironic with a touch of doom! The canvases are replete with dogs, forests and helicopter images. Nature and animals tell a story. The rawness of nature depicted with bright hues of orange and blues are intercepted by swarms of ominous mechanical shapes. To the natural world these are like ghostly beings invading the natural world.
EVELYN JACOB: These photographs are interesting for their technique which shows the snow and ice to bring forth leaves locked in the ice. Through these exquisite prints, the viewer feels the transparency of the surface and the crystal fragments. The photographer transforms what could be a banal subject into a deep contemplative experience with nature,
May 2-28, 2012
Common Ground: The Handmade Print
The Ratner Museum
10001 Old Georgetown Road
Bethesda, MD 20814
The variety of technique demonstrates the innovative style and strengths of the seven printmakers. I enjoyed the show. My only concern is that there may be too many pieces for the size of the gallery.
JUDITH COADY: Her monoprints concentrate on two themes- Ladders: bright horizontal stripes, and Kaleidoscopes: triangular shapes in transparent color.
DERON DECESARE: His small prints showcase a variety of printmaking methods which include etchings, dry point and monoprints. They depict intimate views of landscape.
WINSTON HARRIS: Makes use of the computer to develop his hand colored prints and collages. His basic theme is the inner workings of a watch fractured into small squares printed on scrolls. The collages are developed into 3 dimensional strips, one a whimsical relief, and the other a hanging sculpture.
LAURA HUFF: Focuses on the plight of the Chestnut trees which have been making a slow comeback after a serious blight that almost wiped them out in this country. She examines the individual leaves as well other aspects of the trees.
MYRA MENSCH PATNER: Nature is a major element of her etched leaves on monotypes. Some images are linear others are infused into a colorful background.
JUDITH SIMMONS: Bold lines are captured in her abstract expressionistic imagery. They make a statement and their size commands attention.
NORMAN STRIDE: His beautifully composed and printed linocuts invite us to come and view familiar local scenes in DC as well as a street in London. They are direct, and vividly composed.