Whether the theme “Beginnings” refers to the earliest works of the creator or the launch of a conversation between the artist and the viewer, there are statements designed to titillate, sadden, amuse and provoke.
You know you are in for some challenges when the first piece you see in the gallery is a photo of a middle America, freckle-faced kid wielding a long knife like a samurai sword in Niku Kashef’s “Untitled.”
Other notable photographic works include Catherine Roberts Leach’s “Beauty,” a shot of a small-town beauty salon window exterior in which the reflection is not traditionally beautiful. Sandra Chen Weinstein offers a beautiful, saffron-haloed giclée print titled “Pilgrims at Holy Ganges.”
Abram W. Kaplan’s photo of the eponymous “Truck Stop” is a reflection in a big-rig hubcap, the rural humanity of the place warped by the curve of the steel hubcap surface and gleaming tire bolts.
Some works are subliminally unsettling, such as Art Werger’s etching titled “No Way Out,” a bird’s-eye view of a suburban neighborhood whose meandering lanes leading to the brick two stories look inviting, until you realize that there is, indeed, no way out. Pieter S. Myers’ copper plate photogravure “The Tarantella” composes innocent Victorian China dolls with a central figure that would appeal to Chuckie from the “Child’s Play” horror movies.
In an era where artists experiment increasingly with technologically skewed media like inkjet printing, it is refreshing to see the exceptional caliber of etchings, a printing technique first developed in the 15th century.
