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Home - Art
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Three Part Harmony - |
Trio of exhibits reconnects Bemis Underground to area art scene
by Michael J. Krainak
If you attended the “re-opening” of the Bemis Underground last February and found yourself waxing a bit nostalgic for the old environs, you can be forgiven.
The ghosts of stellar shows such as Dream House on Rye and Nuclear Dichotomies still linger in the remaining nooks and crannies, but as Don Ameche said in a David Mamet gangster film, “things a change,” sometimes for the better.
The Underground was once this region’s place to be for experimental, alternative, new media art; emerging artists curated solo and group shows that transformed the maze-like, environmentally challenged basement of the Bemis into a new and wondrous space each time one visited. |
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Mixed Media - |
Though I have fish fries, spring weather and summer travel on the brain, I’m also almost always thinking about art. Spring is one of the best times to renew my love for openings, and there’s never any shortage of good shows launching each weekend.
Anne Meysenberg sent me a note on the latest from the Kent Bellows Studio. Polycephaly is a student/mentor show continuing in the Nomad Lounge Gallery through April 10, featuring nine past and present mentors: Jody Boyer, Nicole Crawford, Wanda Ewing, Bill Hoover, Matt Jones, Jeff King, Caolan O’Loughlin, Weston Thomson and Steve Walsh. Thomson, also curator of the show, said the title refers to the “unique voice that each mentor provides” to the students. The emphasis, he said, is on “strength in numbers.” Some of the show’s proceeds will benefit Octopuses Garden Art Alliance. |
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Havana Bound - |
Photographer Hendrickson as resourceful as subject matter in Cuba
by Michael J. Krainak
Chances are if you trade your latest vacation snapshots with those of Jim Hendrickson you are going to notice a big difference. Instead of glitzy, postcard photographs of sunsets, infinity pools and mountain vistas, this Omaha artist captures local color beyond the shadow of an all-inclusive resort.
Hendrickson doesn’t take vacations. He takes photos, and he takes his time. Whether it’s the other side of the tracks as with his last exhibit, The Yard, or his planned summer show at Jackson Artworks illustrating a recent sojourn to Paris, he is no tourist. Hendrickson is a vagabond, and sometimes his muse takes him on journeys into forbidden territory.
Places such as Cuba, where he’s been traveling surreptitiously since 2002. A photo record of these trips is on display in the lower level of the Old Market Passageway through March 18. Sponsored by A Moving Gallery, Cuba: Havana in the Moment Just before the Midnight features colorful portraits of people, cityscapes and ’50s automobiles. |
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Group Gallery - |
Artists’ Co-op Gallery helps emerging
artists grow
by Sarah Baker Hansen
The art world can be a game of survival of the fittest.
And though none of the artists showing as part of the Emerging Artist Show at the Artists’ Cooperative Gallery will be kicked off the island when it closes, there is a bit of the reality show formula at work.
“It’s a bit like a television show,” said Jean Mason, a longtime member of the cooperative and the curator of the show. “In some way it does seem kind of contrary to the art world, but it does make for some fun interaction with the public.” |
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Aerial Support - |
Scaffolding benefits artist Day’s cosmic exploration
by Michael J. Krainak
“You need more help than you know. You’re trying to live your life in open scaffolding.”
The operative word for local artist Mary Day, in the line above from the poem “Bismillah,” is “scaffolding,” also the title of her current exhibit at Nebraska Arts Council’s Fred Simon Gallery. Scaffolding, which features Day’s drawings and sculptural objects, will continue through March 26. |
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Mixed Media - |
When I was a kid I had a thing for prehistoric creatures. The few times my parents took me to Morrill Hall, on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus, I was in some serious awe of Pachyderm Hall, where giant, ancient mammoths reign. As a college student at UNL, I had one class in Morrill Hall and made a point at least once a week to hang out with the ancient creatures for a few minutes. I still love them today.
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Goddess in the Bullpen - |
Simcoe and Lee show at Jackson Artworks
by Jasmine Maharisi
If Barbara Simcoe had her way, she’d put the entire world on mute.
Not permanently, of course, but long enough to combat modern culture’s overabundance of stimuli.
“My works are quiet, yet at the same time they intentionally silence a sensory overloaded and violent culture,” Simcoe said in her artist’s statement.
In her latest joint show with husband and fellow artist Lee Murray, Simcoe gives the viewer a glimpse of this quiet, contemplative state through various paintings, drawings and digital prints. |
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Mixed Media - |
Bemis Center Artist-in-Residence Ben Kinsley is looking for volunteers to help him complete a roving art project. The project, which isn’t described because it’s a surprise, will roam around Omaha during March, a surprise to participants and hosts. Volunteers can contact him directly at benkinsley@gmail.com. Pass it on, and keep your eyes peeled for this project around town.
I’m a big fan of TOM’s Shoes. They support a wonderful cause; whenever you buy a pair, a child in need gets a pair, too. So this week’s Style Your Sole Party is both artsy and fashion, and I’ll be there. |
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Blossom Time - |
RNG Gallery features first solo show of artist Dana Rose
by Michael J. Krainak
RNG Gallery director Rob Gilmer takes as much pleasure with first time offerings as does partner Renee Orduna, owner and head chef of Dixie Quicks eatery next door at 20th and Leavenworth.
“I especially enjoy introducing new artists to Omaha,” Gilmer said. “Not just emerging artists, but those who’ve never had a solo show in this area whatever their background. Omaha loves having its horizons widened especially with those it can call its own.” |
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Wild at Heart - |
Nebraska native
Forsberg’s stunning
photos decorate Joslyn
by Sarah Baker Hansen
A tiny burrowing owl hurtles forward. His expression is fierce, his petite wings raised above his alert, piercing gaze.
The owl’s threatening stare is somewhat deceiving, for though it looks frightening in the image, now on display at Omaha’s Joslyn Art Museum, the owl’s very survival is endangered by the disappearance of its habitat.
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Mixed Media: Art News - |
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The Joslyn has named Jack Becker its new director. He comes to Omaha from the Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art in Nashville, Tenn., where he’s been director since 2005. Becker has been curator at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Conn., the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. He come to Omaha in April. Look for an interview with Becker in next week’s Mixed Media. |
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Border Crossings - |
Bemis exhibit explores
beyond the margins of contemporary abstract art
by Michael J. Krainak
Perhaps abstract art’s greatest asset is that it allows artist and viewer the opportunity for free expression and association. To not only create outside the box, but to appreciate work beyond conventional wisdom and experience. In that light the relevant questions isn’t “What is art?” but “What is abstract art?”
Borderland Abstraction, an impressive survey of 13 artists at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, addresses that question well beyond the obvious: Abstract art is a form of art that is mostly non-representational or figurative. Borderland Abstraction continues that discussion with a contemporary twist, according to show organizer Hesse McGraw, Bemis Center curator. |
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Art Openings - |
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The Bemis Underground returns to the scene this month with three solo shows. Artists Matthew Carlson, Rebecca Herskovitz and Tana Quincy will show in the newly renovated space, now under the guidance of former Pulp Gallery owner Brigitte McQueen. Shapeshifters will be Carlson’s first solo show in the BU, where he continues his investigations into dreamy imagery, metaphor and nostalgia. In The Things I Cannot Say, Herskovitz uses erotic imagery and text to investigate the human experience. Quincy created a series of plaster cadaver casts and human bones for SODZO; she explores the effects of a personal illness and the healing process. The shows open Friday, Feb. 19 from 6-9 p.m. in the BU, located on the lower level of the Bemis Center at 12th and Leavenworth. Herskovitz and Quincy will give a gallery talk Saturday, Feb. 20 at noon. |
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Beauty and the Beholder - |
New CU show represents group of Chinese artists
by Sarah Baker
A new show at the Creighton University Lied Gallery comes to the U.S. from China with the aim of bridging a vast cultural divide.
Asian Beauty Trespassing Borders features the work of four prominent Chinese artists; almost all of the pieces feature elements of traditional Asian art blended with hints of American culture. The styles mingle to create a distinct picture of modern art in the East.
“Art does not see whether you are Asian or American,” said Maorong Jiang, director of Creighton’s Asian World Center. “It sees beauty without boundary.”
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Now, Voyager - |
Echotrope launches 2010 season of new media
exhibits with
Interact at UNO
by Michael J. Krainak
Echotrope, a nomadic arts group devoted to the creation and display of new media contemporary art, opened its 2010 season this month at the UNO Art Gallery with a new focus. No longer satisfied with just time-based, site-specific art, Echotrope has begun to experiment with what its cofounder Jody Boyer calls “the fourth dimension, the intersection of time and space.” |
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Mixed Media - |
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Artists worldwide are uniting to help earthquake victims in Haiti, and locals are participating. Omaha artists are invited to gather Friday night at the Art Mill, 156th and Maple, to build clay houses and vases. The finished products will be donated to Artists for Hope, which will sell the pieces on the craft and art commerce site etsy. The organization collects donated pieces from artists around the world, using proceeds to benefit charity. All profits from the Art Mill project will be donated to a resource center for severely malnourished and injured children in Cazale, Haiti. Jane Buresh, owner of the Art Mill, said though she and many others can’t go to Haiti, donating time and creativity can have an impact. Houses for Haiti is Jan. 29, 6-9 p.m. For more information, visit omahaartmill.com. |
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Oh, The Humanity - |
Touring group exhibit stops at Joslyn
by Sarah Baker Hansen
Sometimes the touch of a human hand is wiped away in contemporary art. That’s not so with the latest show at Omaha’s Joslyn Art Museum. In fact, the impact of people is all over The Human Touch, the aptly named touring exhibit of 48 pieces owned by RBC Wealth Management.
The company has a corporate collection of more than 400 works, each featuring either a human figure or evidence of the human touch. The show features lots of big, recognizable names: Tony Berlant, Chuck Close, Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein and Nan Goldin included.
“The work in this show will strike just about anyone,” said John Taft, head of U.S. RBC Wealth management. “It’s a really beautiful selection of work.” |
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Mixed Media - |
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Two new shows open this weekend at the Bemis Center: James Woodfill: Stations and Borderland Abstraction. Woodfill creates sculpture, public art and installation work, integrating light, sound, video and other kinetic elements into his art. He works in galleries, but has installed work in parking lots, garages, on bridges, in courtyards and at self-storage facilities. He aims to create art that interacts with its surroundings and change a room or a space into a “place.” Borderland Abstraction is a group show featuring a variety of media all with one goal: to explore abstraction. Artists Nils Folke Anderson, Tim Bavington, Nate Boyce, Michelle Grabner, Amy Granat, Mary Heilmann, Matthew Kluber, Takeshi Murata, Ara Peterson, Eli Ping, Eric Sall, Colin C. Smith and Wendy White will exhibit. Both shows open Friday, Jan. 22, 6-9 p.m. at the Bemis, 12th and Leavenworth. Artists from both shows will give galley talks Saturday, Jan. 23. The talks begin at noon. |
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Time Warp - |
Artist Helm experiments with past in
From the Queen’s Lab
by Michael J. Krainak
Experiencing From the Queen’s Lab, the current exhibit at the Fred Simon Gallery from artist David Helm, is not unlike being immersed in the cosmos of filmmaker Terry Gilliam. Except of course you are the time traveler instead of Jonathon Pryce or the late Heath Ledger. Think Brazil and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.
Both Helm and Gilliam interweave past and present with an imaginative blend of fantasy and whimsy, but there are key differences aside from the obvious choice of medium. Gilliam creates elaborate narratives for the sake of allegory. Helm’s unique assemblages and installations also comment on contemporary social and political issues within an historical framework, but with a less didactic, more academic point of view. |
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Mixed Media - |
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2010 is kicking off with some big shows, potentially some of the biggest of the year. One opens this weekend at Creighton University’s Lied Gallery. Asian Beauty Trespassing Borders opens Jan. 20, and continues through March 13, featuring the work of four Chinese artists: Zhou Jingxin, vice president of the well-known Nanjing Arts Institute; Zhang Youxian, associate dean at NAI Department of Fine Arts; Yang Zhilin, a professor at NAI and Ning Zhao, a Chinese-born artist who now lives in Canada. The Nanjing Arts Institute is the only comprehensive arts institute in China’s Jiangsu Province. Begun in 1912, it was the earliest art academy established in China, and since then has attached great importance to promoting academic research, improving art teaching methods and advancing art education and talent through research and creativity. The show tackles some serious ground: the idea of how Asian artists deal with the ideals of American beauty. The opening reception for the show will run 5-8 p.m. Jan. 20, and include Asian food, a tea program and traditional Chinese music. |
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