Dan's Papers - August 22, 2008

There are lots of worthy exhibits that pervade our North Fork, from Riverhead to Shelter Island to Greenport. As diverse as these geographic areas are, so, too, are the art galleries that define the locale.

Riverhead's Art Sites is one such venue; the current show, by Elizabeth Silver, includes an arresting body of images (pardon the pun) called "The Body Electric: New American Expressionism." What makes the drawings interesting is the very fact that they are female figures seen from a very different perspective. Most of our local artists known for their figuration use the female body as a narrative device (Marilyn Church) or sensual object (Bob Markel). Conversely, Silver uses the woman to question conventional images of identity. Her females do not reinforce any family roles that we're familiar with: mother, wife, daughter. Nor do they evoke images of sexuality, often identified with the female figure.

Rather, Silver's forms are grotesque and exaggerated. They are also androgenous; we are not sure if the subjects are men or women, although the drawings are given females names (like "Lisa" and "Jessica"). The works are easier to appreciate when we realize that such elements signify Expressionism where extreme contrasts are common. Perhaps Silver is forcing us to go beneath a female's surface reality, to see her with all her multi- faceted dimensions.

Shelter Island's Boltax Gallery offers another diverse show, by Melina Berkenwald, "Wandering Visions." This exhibit highlights another varied format: photographic interventions and etched-glass installations.The idea of movement is essential to the interventions where the artist's unique technique creates a combination of photography, drawing and painting. Thus, the reality of the photographs, when printed on glossy canvas and threads, produces a place caught between actuality and an "other" world. The movement becomes the subject matter or theme, as we see scenes connoting leaving, traveling and arriving. In this way, the viewer gets a first-hand look at an entire journey and the various emotions that are evoked.

Across the steeet is a new gallery on Shelter Island, Mosquito Hawk. Its setting is spacious and eye-catching: an old church. We could even consider the building as an installation itself, natural light streaming through the curved windows adding a special touch. The work itself is not "spiritual," but there is a fantasy-like aura to many of the pieces;. For example, Kerry Sharkey Miller's photographs of toy animals and her miniature carousels are evocative as well as mysterious.

Jon Snow's huge mosaics recall a table created by Lee Krasner in the current exhibit at the Pollock-Krasner House, perhaps because mosaics are still rather rare. Snow's work more clearly reminds this critic of Julian Schnabel's plate fragments which he did several years ago. In Snow's work, however, there's a suggestion of mythic patterns that is quite fascinating.

Alexis Martino's photographs also suggest primitive settings although the human figures are from the present. "Woman in Woods" is particularly myth-like, conjuring up images of a goddess and ancient rituals. In fact, the entire gallery ambience is like wandering in the woods, only to discover a magical and wonderful world.

"The Body Elective" will be on view at Art Sites until Sept. 14. The show at Boltax Gallery will be available until August 25. The current show at Mosquito Hawk will be on view until August 24.