[memorable art shows this semester]

Saw a great show by Anne Siems at David Lusk, above photo, St.Bird, (mixed media on canvas) was my favorite painting. The photography doesn't do it justice- they are much looser and flat in person. At first her work gave an american-folk-art-meets-baroque vibe, but left me with a surprisingly strong opinion: Eerie and borderline kitsch, with the children's faces and adornments having this less refined, more illustrative quality. Reminded me of artwork for those awful parodies of my childhood favorite books- Little Vampire Women (Lynn Messina, author), and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls  (Steve Hockensmith, author; Patrick Arrasmith, illustrator) are available on Amazon. 


BFA senior exhibition, Marshall Arts Gallery
Went primarily to see work of two girls I knew, Toy Houseman and Rachel Underhill. Rachel's paintings looking both elegant and wacky as ever (i had the privilege of seeing them in progress during painting class critique). Toy's take on sports photography was nice- simple, colorful, and structured. The ceramicist (whose name escapes me) also made some interesting little delicate pieces that were displayed in this triangular shelf in a corner of the gallery. Good show


Dixon Gallery: Art of Brian Selznick, From Houdini to Hugo 
Browsed this show on my way to hear Melissa Dunn speak about her exhibit of new work (on display alongside this one). Found myself stopping at the smaller drawings: traditionally drawn, fancier than cartoon, but stylized enough to not be considered super naturalistic.. Funny little scenes but they're still elegant..

Melissa Dunn: Looking for One Thing, Finding Another

Abstract, non-representational paintings about structure, color relationships and shapes, primarily acrylic on canvas (though she wants to explore oils with this subject matter). Got to listen to her during Beth's class, one of her more memorable quotes was about using orange with grey- it's a hard combo to pull off, but she managed to do it. She also has a neat  internationally-touring-band-geek-turned-incredibly-disciplined-painter story. My favorite pieces included more understated color schemes, although the brighter palettes grabbed my attention as well. Enjoyable to observe her work and hear her speak