‘Hugs & Kisses’

by Laura Vranes

Artists Jeff King and Anthony Brown’s group show XO at New BLK Gallery can be described as a titillating stimulation of your eyes and sensibilities.  King’s stark urban influences create an interesting juxtaposition to Brown’s more voluptuous female forms. 

This show is unique as it features both individual and collaborative paintings from both King and Brown.  Their styles may be different, but the...

‘Prime’ Time

by Mary Day

Go to New York City and wonder at the sight of the Statue of Liberty rising out of New York Harbor. On a tablet within the pedestal on which the statue stands is an engraved poem by Emma Lazarus, “The New Colossus”, containing the often quoted lines "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” The poem was written to commemorate the installation of Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi’s...

‘What Goes Down…’

by Michael J. Krainak

Not only does the Bemis Underground’s current show challenge one’s notion of “What is art?” it counters expectations of art exhibits itself. In a 21^st century postmodern era of bewildering cultural influences and twists, we’ve come to expect that of Bemis both above and below the ground.

What Goes Down Must Come Up strains a bit with its premise--especially its subhead of Trial, Ascension, Requisite—as well as...

‘Monster’ Quest

by Laura Vranes

From an early age we have learned to visualize a world of recognizable shapes and colors, from white puffy clouds to a soft furry teddy bear clutched in our arms.  Each of us has a unique way of viewing our experiences that somehow fit in a distinctive way that binds us all together. 

The Monster Show, a three-person art exhibit currently at RNG Gallery, reinforces that premise as it engages all of our senses in...

‘Collects to Share’

by Sally Deskins

Jordan Schnitzer has a museum named after him in his hometown of Eugene Oregon. His private print collection (of over 7,000 prints--the largest in the United States), includes work from renowned artists Andy Warhol, Chuck Close, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Edward Ruscha, Roy Lichtenstein, Kara Walker and Kiki Smith, to name a few.

His prints, “collected to share” with public institutions around the...

‘What Metaphor Allows’

by Mary Day

The English visionary artist William Blake introduced book arts as it is known today by his integration of text, image and form in the late 18^th century. These key concepts of artists’ books can be seen in U.N.O. Professor Bonnie O’Connell’s exhibition What Metaphor Allows/ Collage, Books, Assemblage presently on view in the Sunderland Gallery, St. Cecelia’s Cathedral.

 “I’m continually discovering and learning...