Posted on Sun, Jun. 24, 2007 by Inquirer
art critic Victoria Donohoe.
Wayne Art Center - 'Focus is on the figure
at Wayne'
The figure is a touchstone of the Wayne Art Center's 39-artist
"National Spring Open Juried Exhibit" curated
by Mark Van Proyen, Art Critic and Associate Professor of
Painting and Art History at the San Francisco Art Institute.
Just now, we're beginning to see for the
first time a more instinctive grasp and knowledge of the
figure in lively, broad-based shows like Wayne's annual
painting/sculpture event.
Consider one of this 48-item show's pictures:
Grace, a respectful, larger-than-life pastel of a courageous
Lancaster County Amish girl painted by Teresa DeSeve of
Collegeville. For DeSeve, this heroic child who protected
other children in the tragic schoolhouse shootings last
year is a lens through which the world is focused and comprehended.
Several other pieces functioning similarly
as a lens are a pair of vibrant oils of children at play
by Lin Xia Jiang of Buffalo, a meditating standing figure
in charcoal by Justin Nostrala of Iowa, and a snappy and
environmentally savvy clay sculpture, The Teaching Gore,
by Cheryl Harper of Paoli.Other figure works of note are
by painters Eleanor Day of Philadelphia, Ed Watson of Illinois,
Glenn Harren of Holicong, Peter Smith of West Chester and
photographers Jim Stogdill of Wayne and Deborah Hamon of
California.
Memorable abstractions, though few, are
by painters Marc Salz of Philadelphia, Steven Altman of
Colorado, Elisa Root of Rochester, N.Y., Victoria Webb of
West Chester, Yudith Segev of California and Paul Gorka
of Philadelphia.
A strong show.
Wayne Art Center, 413 Maplewood, Wayne,
PA 610-688-3553.
Contact art critic Victoria Donohoe at The
Inquirer, 800 River Rd., Conshohocken, Pa. 19428.