 by Valerie Valentine
Gallery 360 caters to a different clientele than the inner city art crowd. The venue is slick. Not just aesthetically, but in a “we actually sell stuff” kind of way. They've got loads of stationery, shiny handmade trinkets, paintings by Jennifer Davis and great photo transfers on Botticelli marble by Natasha D'Schommer. “Canova, the Louvre” is a visual dance, where centuries-old statues come alive in a lucid light, on the unusual surface of cool marble.
 The
exhibit 5-Foot Shows is a marvelous concept that rounds out the gallery
space. Artist Rebecca Silus intuitively chops scenes into panels of color, reflecting
the essence of place. In her latest work, Silus defines her Door County paintings
as urban landscapes. Fair enough. Anyone who’s been there knows it's a
beautiful, natural retreat, under rapid development by out-of-state companies.
Silus rightly asserts that, in regard to its urbanity, "the other half
is still coming." Her fields echo the shapes of cities we've seen in past
work, and while windows and bridges clutter those scenes, the Door County paintings
offer blocks of green and white that are breezy, flat and spacious. But even
though these shades are healthier compared to the black and brown Minneapolis
scenes, the shapes are not as interesting.
Architecture photographer Mark A. Kawell is also featured in 5-Foot Shows.
His black and white shots depict solitude—trees standing in one place
their whole lives are indeed lonely. Meanwhile, Susan Feigenbaum displays her
“biomorphic sculptural forms,” which are delightful, Dr. Seussical
creatures. One, entitled “Impudent Mask,” wiggles its red tipped
horns and tongue at the viewer—at once both vulgar and hilarious.
The gallery’s main show, From Ohms to Avenues, features the ubiquitous
Gregory Euclide. His paintings invoke a degree of sculpture—two or more
layers of paint add depth, along with various media, including paper, mylar,
acrylic, pen and lithotape. Minute detail in the work begs the viewer to take
a closer look. Then stepping back, one sees that the topographies are maps of
human life, cellular construction, city blocks and highways.
Sidenote: “New American Paintings” Midwestern edition for September
2004, a juried exhibition by Open Studios Press, features Silus and Euclide,
as well as local painters Clea Felien, Ben Olson, David Lefkowtiz and others.
The Twin Cities got mega-representation here, as only 40 artists out of more
than 1,000 were chosen for the publication. Congratulations, all. ||
5-Foot Shows and From Ohms to Avenues run through
October 24 at Gallery 360,
3011 W. 50th St. (at Xerxes Ave. S.), Mpls. 612-925-2400.
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