AmesNews: No. 26, Spring 2008
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GALLERY NOTES
It’s been a long time since we put together a newsletter, and we have a lot to tell you. Drawings of two of our newest artists, Deborah Barrett and Christopher Dalton Powell, were selected to be in a show at Halle Saint Pierre in Paris. At the same time, we got word that an exhibit of California master watercolorists is to be set in Sweden, and an A.G. Rizzoli symbolic portrait will be in that show. Also on our calendar is the Los Angeles Antique Show. Again this year, the gala event is a benefit for P.S. Arts, one of the premier organizations dedicated to getting the arts back into our schools. We hope that you’ll attend the show and help to support this worthy cause. While I’m in Los Angeles, Karen will be representing us at the Intuit Show at Artropolis in Chicago. Check our calendar for these events and for some advance notice on a cane conference that will be held in Paris in October.
It’s not all good news. Sadly, since our last newsletter, we’ve lost two good friends, known to many of you. We pay tribute to them in this newsletter.
Now, as we head in to spring, we wish you all good cheer, good health and brighter times..
--Bonnie Grossman, Director
GALLERY NEWS
So much has been written in recent months on the subjects of going green, building green, and living green that even I tend to forget the fact that Alex Maldonado was “painting green“ as far back as the late 60’s. Many of his colorful paintings expressed his visionary thinking: fermenting garbage into gas, turning salt water into fresh water, and creating cities free of auto pollution. In our present show at the Gallery we are featuring works that best demonstrate his ecological themes.
Maldonado envisioned unique cities without slums, solar powered communities, an earth rotation generator, and a world at peace, one that was maintained by an international barter system. Maldonado feared the danger of extinction for both the human and animal races through pollution and disease. Through his paintings, he envisioned unique cities without slums, towns existing underwater or underground, and entire communities run on solar power. His boundless imagination offered us a world of peace and justice with giant ”vacuum” towers to purify the air, coast to coast travel in less than an hour, and a world in which all can walk “safety” day or night.
The show will run at the Gallery through June 30th, in a long overdue tribute to this forward thinking artist, who knew long ago that we had to save the earth. His genuinely child-like imagination inspired his wisdom in realizing what was needed to preserve our world for future generations.
Alex Maldonado is represented in numerous private and public collections including The Oakland Museum, Intuit in Chicago, the American Folk Art Museum in New York, and the National Museum of American Art (the Smithsonian).
We recently acquired a number of canes and walking sticks, which we have added to our collection. We are delighted to be offering these pieces for sale so soon after we obtained them.
We’ve always found canes to be a much neglected and often underestimated form of vernacular folk art. There is wide variation in these utilitarian objects; yet until recent times they have not received the recognition and glory that has been given to quilts, rugs, tramp art or even whimseys.
Canes are associated with old age or infirmity, but historically the cane was a fashion accessory: one might have been taught the proper or graceful way to appear in public with an umbrella or cane.
The diversity of canes and walking sticks is astonishing, especially considering the fact that a tree branch or broom stick cut to size would suffice as support or aid in walking.
We leave systems canes, Tiffany, Faberge, ivory and gold canes to others, and concentrate on the more rustic works of folk artists. These often anonymous woodworkers have exhibited their extraordinary creativity by carving onto their sticks animals (including reptiles, birds, and other both wild and domesticated beasts), fantasy creatures, and human figures in every pose. The variety is endless. From the sturdy staff suitable as aid to a hiker to the more delicate “lady’s cane,” we’ve chosen a provocative array of sticks that we hope will intrigue you. We look forward to sharing our newest acquisitions.
Related Event:
Canemania 2008
6th Annual Cane Conference
Paris, France
October 9 – 11, 2008
The sixth annual cane conference will be held in Paris from October 9 through the 11th, 2008. Speakers, local tours, and hosted events will make this conference memorable. We look forward to Paris, with all it has to offer. Registration will be limited. Please go to www.canemania2008.com for more information and details on registration.This is a compilation of five short documentary films on the work of various folk artists; in this case Calvin and Ruby Black’s “Possum Trot,” Grandma Prisbey’s bottle village, Harry Lieberman celebrating his 103rd birthday, Minnie Evans, and the Monument of Chief Rolling Thunder. Copies can be ordered for $45 plus shipping, see their website: www.lightsaraffilms.com.
The Nordic Watercolor Museum is preparing a major exhibition called Pacific Light, California Watercolor Refracted 1907 – 2007. It is is co-curated by Professor Mark Johnson of San Francisco State University and Bera Nordal, director of the museum.
The exhibition is a historical overview of the watercolor tradition as expressed in California. The material, sixty pieces in all, has been drawn from San Francisco Bay Area museums and important private collections from southern California to Sacramento. The Ames Gallery is delighted to have a work by A.G. Rizzoli requested for this special show. “Mrs. Geo. Powleson Symbolically Portrayed / The Mother Tower of Jewels” will hang along with works by such artists as David Hockney, Sam Francis, and Raymond Pettibon.
The museum is under the patronage of HRH The Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. Past exhibitions included a major presentation of British watercolors covering the period 1640 – 1860, with works by J.M.W. Turner and William Blake (to name a few). For further information, on this exhibit or the museum, visit their website: www.akvarellmuseet.org.
We have located a few out of print A.G. Rizzoli books. Also, the movie about Rizzoli, Yield to Total Elation is now available on DVD. The books are $65, the dvds are $40, plus shipping.
Deborah Barrett & Christopher Dalton Powell
Both Deborah Barrett and Christopher Dalton Powell have had their drawings selected for inclusion in an exhibit at Halle Saint Pierre in Paris, France. The show, Eloge du Dessin, features the work of twenty artists, and was curated by the museum’s director, Martine Lusardy.
For those of you who don’t yet know these two artists, both include drawing and collage in their work. Deborah’s work has been in our personal collection for many years. Because so many of our clients singled out her images when they saw them on our walls, I have begun to show her extraordinary creations. They often present the human face or body with patches placed on the figure to distort or conceal, or in some way mask the image. Old ledgers, journal pages and ancient maps, or fabric provide the foundation for the work.
Chris Powell also makes use of collage, but his line is black, crisp and concise, while Deborah’s is gray, soft and flowing. In the series of work at Halle Saint Pierre, drawing gives shape to the color elements that are cut and pasted to further define his images. Reminiscent of paper dolls, Mr. Potato Head, and other childhood play, Chris’ assemblages bring us intriguing and unlikely characters. His attention to detail is compelling.
We’re pleased to be representing these artists, who are new to our inventory, and look forward to your becoming familiar with their work.
