CURRENT EXHIBITION

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13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

May 11 - June 9, 2024

Reception Saturday, May 11, 3-5pm

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13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird is an exhibition of 13 contemporary artists working with abstraction in painting, sculpture, and ceramics. The title is taken from a poem by Wallace Stevens which is comprised of 13 taut, evocative stanzas, each with an image of a blackbird within. And just to get it out of the way, there are actually 15 artists in the show. 🤷‍♂️

Steven’s classic, modernist poem has been evoked because it demonstrates with skill and economy how varied the mind and senses can experience even a single, simple image. In a word- subjectivity. Contemporary art practice and abstraction itself are neither singular nor simple. Even with the variety of mediums and approaches represented in the show, only a sliver of a healthy forest is represented here. Like Stevens, some of the artists in the show simplify or alter nature to poetic ends. Others, abstract cultural sources. Some find an abstract result by focusing on the characteristics of their materials and process.

In addition to the theme of abstraction, the work in this show has been selected because of its quality. The quality of an art objective is often what makes it stand out. Consensus sometime occurs, but this estimation of aesthetic value remains beautifully mysterious and subjective. Artwork of high quality, regardless of medium or subject… just seems to float or hover a bit.