By J. Taylor Basker
Flanking the large sign that announces the Westbeth Winter Show are two huge yellow and orange laser-cut acrylic flowers sculpted by Rachel Urkowitz. These introduce the viewer to the artwork in an exhibit that will raise your metabolism and warm you with vibrant color, regardless of outdoor temperatures.
Despite Jean Wolf’s stark white minimalist panel of repetitious raised patterns in “Rod Ryman #5” at the entrance, and Denis Golden’s pristine white marble sculpture, “For You,” of two melting cubes embracing over an icy base in the center, this exhibit exudes heat. The frothy organza hanging sculpture by Ana Garces Kiley, “And I Will Speak To You In Your Tongue,” evokes a frozen extinct bird with delicate ink and monofilament. Yet, flying next to it explodes “Survivor Bird,” by puppeteer Ralph Lee, made of paper maché, feathers, wood, wire, and found objects (including hair curlers). It is ragged, but determined to cling to life. This play of opposites continues, with Jon D’Orazio’s circular painting “Crystal Mirror,” sparking like frost in winter sunlight, juxtaposed with the bright orange/yellow sunburst hand-cut paper silkscreen “Rise” by Elizabeth Gruen. In between the hot and cold is Robert Bumpkin’s startling “Lamentation,” acrylic on canvas, wringing its multiple large hands in grisaille greys, perhaps unsure which way to turn. Completing the counterpoint of dominant warm colors are Karin Batten’s large painting “Veiled,” an art teacher’s illustration of how to use complementary colors, and John Menegon’s “City Scope,” bright enough to be seen from the East Side, with thick slashing black lines overwhelmed by brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. The softened reds in Peter Colquhoun’s subdued still life “Manikin, Vase, Bouquet” mitigate this intensity so we are not blinded to the subtleties of Ellen Rosen’s quartet of acrylic paintings, “In Memory,” with exquisite brush work in cool blues, greens, and purples of rhythmic vertical lines like rain beating in our memories. Even softer are Ken Wade’s “12 Squares” small slabs of plaster with tinted pastel, and Al Cooke’s etched steel pattern, like a piece of lace, “Untitled.”
The side rooms have smaller art pieces that address large topics. Penny Jones, a puppet maker, assembled a mixed media installation, “January 6,” that dramatically conveys the chaos and danger for our nation with a large rat in a red cap emerging from under a severed Capital dome with suggestions of blood and violence. An international theme appears in the Kabuki figure of “Osome,” a man in a patterned women’s dress for Japanese theatre, depicted in an elegant monoprint on rice paper, and Jacqueline Taylor Basker’s icon of “The Immaculate Heart of Mary of Gaza” surrounded by NY Times pictures of dead Palestinian and Israeli children, collaged on gold leaf. Here also is “The Covid Series” by Emil Mare: 12 small panels of mixed media in vibrant color and nightmare imagery, depicting our surreal experience these past two years. These grim realities are relieved by the playful multicolored patterned painting by Margie Rubin, “Wind,” perhaps blowing the flowing hairs of Claire Rosenfeld’s large noble collies in “Dog Day Afternoon.”
The photography room displays the talents of Westbeth photographers. Included are Shelley Seccombe’s powerful sunset image “Motel Pool-Closed,” another document of closures, and Mary Ridge’s photo print, “The A Train,” of masked, separated people. Three engaging videos by Theodore Timreck, Ethan Mass, and Mourrice Papi are looped with images from the High Line to street mobs. Eric Sheehy’s painting “Music of the Spheres,” with its colorful figure eight in bright yellow against strong abstract colorful shapes and slashes, provides a message for us: “Breathe.”
In the large back room we are awed by the detailed snowy tracery of Olive Ayhens’ large forest in “Unaccustomed to Winter.” In contrast, this is surrounded by the powerful and colorful flowers of Simon Carr and Sandra Caplan, and an enormous bouquet by Avri Ohana, luring us to the lush Italian landscapes by Francia and Ray Ciarrocchi. For Westbeth artists, winter is only a passing annoyance; warm life forms explode forcefully in dynamic works such as Cari Rosemarin’s “Cell” and David Seccombe’s “X2.”
This theme of hope is repeated in Joan Hall’s box assemblage, “Resurrection,” of a Victorian female head and corseted vertebrae, emerged from a tomb—how we feel after two years of lockdown of galleries! Leaving, we pass Ann Hamilton’s mannequin “Nina” wearing a coat of painted colorful faces, without masks, that watch the exciting explosion of color and dancing abstract foliage, faces, and flowers on Karina Cavat’s large canvas “Fallin” as we head out into the cold reality of winter.
@Westbeth Gallery, 155 Bank Street. Open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday, 1:00-6:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday 1:00-8:00 p.m., through December 17th.
