Review

"Self on the Event Horizon," Oil on Canvas.

Jenna Tomlin
Visual Expressions
(Group Show)

Noon-6 p.m.

Gas Light Gallery and Studio
12 E. Peoria, Suite 200
Paola, KS
913.963.4201

Hours: Noon-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
Runs through: Feb 26.

Artist's site: http://reflectionsink.t4p.net

A random sampling of Jenna Tomlin's favorite authors reads like a fantasy/sci-fi Who's Who: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, Ursula K. LeGuin, Douglas Adams ... and the list goes on.

That bent toward the fanciful and othertimely shows up in Tomlin's personal style and in her art, too ... particularly in her drawings and oil paintings. (Tomlin is also a jewelry designer and an art photographer; she wears a lot of hats both literally and metaphorically.)

Tomlin has three oils in the Visual Expressions group show, the inaugural exhibition at Paola's new Gas Light Gallery and Studio. And even if you saw the paintings at Tomlin's December show at Red Door Studios in KCK, a trek southward from the metro area would be a good thing.

(If a weekday trip to Miami County isn't in the cards, no worries. From 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, Gas Light and D'Marie Gallery and Espresso Bar will host Paola's first Art & Wine Crawl.)

Tomlin's art is worth the drive. It's introspective and expressive, heartfelt and thoughtful, calming and challenging all at once. And Amanda Martin, Gas Light's owner and director, has used one of Tomlin's painting to pull off one of the best presentations I've seen in a while.

The piece in question is Self on the Event Horizon, pictured above. It's displayed in a way that reflects both the enigmatic, fourth-wall-testing visual impact of the work itself and Tomlin's comments on the painting:

Viewing and perceiving life is influenced by our genetics, our upbringing, our culture and so many other things, but it all starts with each one of us as an individual and how we choose to react and process every event that occurs in our life.  This painting is about one such event, an Event Horizon.  It's the unknown and how do you expect anyone to react to any one thing they might encounter.  You have no idea what this Self is experiencing, you can only judge by her expression and body language what she has come across in life.

Tomlin's work (all of her paintings, not only this one) embodies that truth: While each viewer is free to make up his or her own work, only the artist knows what's real ... and what is fantasy.