Dan's Papers - September 21, 2007 - art commentary With Marion Wolberg Weiss

Don't ever try to review an art exhibit at the show's opening, especially, of course, if you're an art critic. While the reasons are mostly obvious, there are a few truths that subsequently become apparent. Simply put, we absorb and respond to an art work or a film, or, in fact, any kind of interaction (even between people) based on specific influences ("filters"), which we may or may not have control over: physical; psychological; informational; and cultural, among others.

As with many openings, the one at the Spanierman was crowded and noisy (which is not a negative observation, by the way). But the environment was not conducive to experiencing the works on display, thus the intervention of physical environmental filters. The point is abstraction must be experienced in a setting that's free of distractions, again, a somewhat obvious conclusion but one that bears repeating.

Once this critic returned to the gallery when there was no one around, the works took on a different life and spirit: they danced and shimmered and performed, their colors and shapes permeating the space and beyond.

Sally Egbert's watercolor collages are a case in point, their swirling configurations a cross between music and ballet. Gertrude Greene's work, "Gray and Orange," was likewise a celebration of joyful movement with more focus on control and verticality.

Tracy Harris' pieces were equally a mixture of spontaneity and control, her swirling motif similar to digital imagery but thankfully done by her own deft hand. Ms. Harris' use of oil and wax evoked the overall effect of joyful play.

Kryn Olson's pieces were not as "abstract" as some of the other works in the exhibit, her images clearly vegetables like onions and beets, reminding us in a charming way that Ms. Olson's academic expertise is biology. Yet there was a political statement to be made by the artist when contrasting the lushness of some images and the slow fading away of others.

Abstraction in a different guise was also apparent at the recent Ashawagh Hall group show, although Mary Antczak's irregularly-shaped circles recall the swirling, life-infusing works by Tracy Harris at the Spanierman. Dennis Leri's metal abstractions, "Urban Cadence," were a reminder, too, of the pervasive sense of rhythm experienced at the Spanierman exhibit. Not only do Leri's structures have their own internal sounds, but also these sounds transcend height and weight, sending lyrical patterns throughout their environment.

Especially intriguing was a photographic installation by Bill Kiriazis that could be labeled abstraction and/or conceptual art in this critic's opinion. That is, the arrangement of family pictures represented the alternate gaining and losing of memory about relatives who had first come to this country in 1913. The defocusing of individual images also signified fading memory. The superimposition of a young woman's photograph was another unique way, showing how the passing years give different perspectives to loved ones.

"Women and Abstraction" will be on view at East Hampton's Spanierman Gallery until Oct. 1.