Dan's Papers - May 15, 2009

There are many ways and venues to see an art exhibit, but the current show this weekend at Ashawagh Hall beats them all. This critic viewed the work ahead of time at Mary Antczak's home as each participating artist entered with a painting in one hand and a plate of food in the other.

Explanation: The all-female group of artists, known as Party of 8, meets every six weeks for dinner and conversation. However, at last week's gathering, art was the focus. Even so, both the setting and the group were informal and warm. No one really tried to grab center stage. The ambience was personal and professional - mostly personal, a word that also describes the women's work. It's a far cry from art that is too formal to be enjoyed, too distant to be relevant.

Maggie Kotuk's horse farm is an example of her "paintings as narrative," where a typical scene is observed and a story unfolds: clothes hang on the line while donkeys and chickens go about their business. But this is no make-believe farm. The owner is Kotuk herself, who related that she was recently hurt by one of the donkeys. Did she show malice against the animal? No. The artist clearly loves her farm and the people/animals who inhabit it.

Abby Abrams's "My Monster" is as intense and personal as one can get, expressing her bout with cancer. Frankly, the image of a woman looks like Abrams as she fights her demons, represented by written words on the canvas. Such text surrounds and entraps the artist, as does the disease: the word "waiting" is written on her arm, while the inscription "blessed with wonderful children and friends" takes up more space. The autobiographical nature of Abrams' image is immediately understood and felt.

Ruby Jackson's painting, "Circling the Drain," is an exterior image of internal feelings, like Abrams' work. Jackson makes no pretense that the piece is anything but an expression of her personal emotions and worldview. The material (gold, copper and silver leaf) is shimmering and spirited (signature qualities for Jackson) yet the circle also suggests the attempt to solve the "never-ending" aspect of life's problems. This idea may not be what the artist had in mind, but we can't help but be engaged by such a contradiction: life as both "rich"/vibrant and also disorienting.

Some artists interpret life's personal aspects with their choice of subject matter. Consider Susan Ecker's landscape that reflects her love for the area's grayness and soft light. Her "Earth: Primary Mist" is an example of her signature style, a combination of drawing and painting techniques that recall Impressionism (although Ecker does not describe her work as such). More important is her personal view of life, the attempt to reach the "edge," the extension of what we see and believe beyond the ordinary.

Pamela Focarino's landscapes are philosophical as well, with her use of oil on board and plaster. Her lowered horizon line makes the view accessible; her intensity of color and perspective gives us the idea that we can both reach what is unreachable and still be detached from it.

While Antczak's work has also been described as landscape, geometric abstraction comes to mind at first glance. Yet her recurring shapes are "personal" in a way that makes us think the paintings take over Antczak's mind and spirit. They tell her what she is and what she will become.

Eleanor Leaver's pen and ink drawings are as close to documentation as possible: local scenes from boats in the harbor to historic sites including homes, schools and churches. But each place has some special meaning for Leaver that's cherished by the artist and the viewer alike.

Michelle Murphy's own shapes are related to architectural details, often associated with her own dwellings. They are, therefore, somewhat autobiographical, evoking literal and figurative memories of her life that defy time and place. When she puts a figure into the painting, often children in her early works, they become images of her own family members. They remind us of our own childhood and our own family. You can't get more personal than this.

"Party of 8" will be on view at Ashawagh Hall from May 15-17. The reception is May 16 from 5-8 p.m.