I often approach non-themed group art shows with a bit of familiar trepidation. Unthemed is too often translated as unattached.
Without a common motif to provide an overarching structure, an anything-goes aesthetic can result in exhibitions that are messy and disjointed potpourri of so-so.
Of course, this can happen even when a show has a cohesive and solid theme if the curator fails to maintain adherence to a particular motif.
“That’s what I love,” a 19-person exhibit eased my concerns. It’s curated by Little Compton, Rhode Island artist Mark Glaicher, who has put together something that’s “off-topic,” but not in the usual way.
Instead, it revolves around a sweet, simple and self-indulgent conceit: it’s a job he loves.
He admits some admiration for the work of each of the artists he has chosen, noting that he sought to “bring together a diverse group of artists often associated with a particular style, city or clique through a casual mix designed to excite and unite.” “
Exhibited in the alternative gallery space at Groundworks, a shared co-working facility in New Bedford, “What I Love” succeeds because Gleicher has a keen eye and expansive appetite for the visual arts, mixing and matching styles that, brought together in the space, become something of a lively party.
There are silent interlocutors in the corners. There are a few flirts, philosophers and fashionistas, and a loner or two, all waiting for the DJ to drop the needle.
And there is much delight for the eyes.
Among the cutest is “Three Barts Mooning with Deer” by Tom Deininger, a large painting with colors that range from a Necco Wafer palette to the vivid teal silhouette of an upside-down deer.
A trio of sneering Bart Simpsons descend on a reimagining of Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, in which the women are bikini-clad and not even vaguely cubical. Part of the painting looks like a stencil and suggests a chain link fence. Part of the charm of Deininger’s picture is that he doesn’t offer answers, which only incites more curiosity.
Diane Cournoye’s The Three Graces is not a direct reference to the mythological daughters of Zeus, but rather to the tree trunks that take up much of the upper three-quarters of the painting.
Using a range of earth tones that give way to an indigo sky and a luminescent golden hue, she projects a sense of the ethereal. Hmmm, the daughters of Zeus represented beauty, gaiety and elegance. Perhaps Cournoye painted them after all.
“Bed Head” by teenage artist Dane Ashton is a combination of bold primary colors and frantic gestures. It depicts a woman in a bright red dress, with tousled blonde hair and mascara running down her face. She is apparently modeled after the DC Comics anti-hero Harley Quinn. Ashton’s enthusiastic approach is remarkable and with patience and practice his skills are sure to be honed.
There is a wonderfully rendered and beautiful black and white illustration by Janie Kinnane of a woman in profile wearing an elaborate tall crown on her head. Known as vinok, it is a traditional hairstyle worn by Ukrainian girls and unmarried women. As the conflict continues, the drawing is imbued with solemnity and sadness.
Although Milton Brightman would by no means be considered a social realist artist, there is a certain celebration of the working class in his depiction of fishermen, longshoremen, riggers and other dockers in his ‘Coal Pocket Pier’. Brightman can’t be considered a magical realist artist either, but there’s something about the Easter candy colors of his night sky and harbor reflections that border on the otherworldly. And it’s perfect.
A highlight of the exhibit is a painting by Will Fairbrother, professor of biology at Brown University. In his “Lovers,” a man and woman, painted loosely in a charming style, frolic on what might be a beach. The sky is blue and cartoon angels are flying around.
She offers him something—her bathing suit bottom, perhaps? He gestured frantically. Their eyes are locked. The air is thick with passion.
Other notable works: David Guadalupe’s The Pious, Rosaries for the Internet Age; Roger Kizik’s “Ululation,” a choreography contained within the confines of a canvas; and Josh Von Non’s “Clump Pot,” a pot reimagined by Doctor Frankenstein.
A themeless show. I love that too.
“This I Love” is on display at Groundworks, 1213 Purchase St., New Bedford, through August. Use the Maxfield Street entrance.