Review

An opening review of Playful Things: examining the role of female identity in contemporary art

Magda Gluszek, "Fashion Victim #3," clay, fake eyelashes, fur, paint, fake nails, wood, porcelain, lacquer, 17” x 17” x 11”, 2009. Image: courtesy of the gallery

University of Central Missouri Gallery of Art & Design
Warrensburg, Missouri
January 14 – February 19, 2010

A celebratory mood enveloped UCM’s Gallery of Art & Design on the opening night of its first exhibition of the year, Playful Things. UCM’s gallery director, Jeremy Mikolajczak, estimates that well over a hundred visitors were in attendance opening night, a larger crowd than usual.

Installation view of "Playful Things" in the UCM Gallery of Art & Design through February 19, 2010. Photo: courtesy of the gallery

Artist Sharon Shapiro (far right) traveled from Virginia to open "Playful Things" with a gallery talk about her paintings on January 14, 2010. Photo: courtesy of the gallery

Earlier in the day an informal artist’s lecture at a noontime brownbag lunch event attracted approximately 30 students and faculty members who were treated to a lecture and question-and-answer session by Virginia-based artist, Sharon Shapiro. She impressed upon the students how one comment from a professor had led to her changing her major from fashion design to painting. It is a decision she never regretted, she says, even though sometimes she experiences ups and downs in her work. She stressed that it is part of being an artist and the joy she experiences when she is painting surpasses the lows when she is not painting. She says she feels exhilaration when engaged in painting something that really excites her — such as lather. Shapiro's fascination with lather is associated mostly with its texture.

Sharon Shapiro, "Then the Dream Changed," acrylic on canvas, 50" x 56", 2009. Image: courtesy of the gallery

In the main gallery, there are several of Shapiro’s “lather” paintings. Then the Dream Changed (2009) particularly stands out since it is of an attractive nude, white woman leaning forward as she shampoos the head of a handsome black man. Shapiro said the title had influenced an essay in the exhibition’s catalogue* — that the comparison between her painting and Martin Luther King’s well-known dream for equality speech had surprised her; she did not have that in mind when she titled the work. However, she went on to share with the audience the somewhat humorous symbolic interpretation in the catalogue’s essay that hints at the notion that the couple perhaps represent Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama during the contentious 2008 presidential primary.

Gallery view of Sharon Shapiro's "Badlands," acrylic on canvas, 60" x 48", 2006. Photo: courtesy of the gallery

She amused the audience with another story of how she and a friend had hopped a fence to take a photograph of her standing in a wading pool for her 2006 acrylic painting Badlands. Shapiro struck a pose reminiscent of George Washington in George Washington Crossing the Delaware (1851) by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze. Later on she was pleased to discover that a viewer had also noticed the similarity between the two poses.

A far cry from its days of carpeted walls and dark lighting, UCM’s renovated gallery space with enhanced lighting proved to be the perfect setting for the explorations of female identity by the four featured female artists. Curated by Mikolajczak with student curator Meagan Dion, the exhibition includes the work of Christina Vantzou, based in Brussels, Belgium; Sarah Knobel, based in Baltimore, Maryland; and Magda Gluszek, based in Roswell, Georgia.

Magda Gluszek, "Fashion Victim #4," clay, polymer clay, cast resin, porcelain, paint, wood, 17” x 17” x 9”, 2009. Image: courtesy of the gallery

Two stunning works by Gluszek immediately captures viewers’ attention when first entering the gallery. Titled Fashion Victim #3 (2009) and Fashion Victim #4 (2009), these two mixed media works are stoneware female heads mounted on flower-shaped pastel colored plaques made of wood and decorated with tiny flowers. Both heads are glazed dark brown, but Fashion Victim #3 resembles a mature-looking woman with upswept hair, her eyes closed and lips posed for a kiss. She wears bright red lipstick, long false eyelashes and a pearl-like necklace. Fashion Victim #4 is an unsettling head of an adolescent girl with lamb-like ears protruding from the sides of her head and a white, lacey collar around her neck. Her mouth is gaping open in a peculiar smile that reveals some dark pink gums below her lower teeth. Both heads are disturbing in a funny way that becomes even more humorous after viewers read the titles.**

Other works worth mentioning are video works by Christina Vantzou and Sarah Knobel. Vantzou’s The Shape of My Awareness (2009) sets the stage for the entire rest of the exhibition and Knobel’s Cheer (2006-2009) humorously confronts stereotypes of cheerleaders. This remarkable exhibition of artworks by significant female artists is a must see for contemporary art enthusiasts.

Installation view of "Playful Things" in the UCM Gallery of Art & Design through February 19, 2010. Pictured at center is Magda Gluszek's "Sweet Ride." Photo: courtesy of the gallery

The evening’s festivities also included refreshments, along with music by UCM faculty members, Dr. Carla Maltas and Dr. Lisa Fredenburgh, and UCM student, Erlisha Tamplin, who created a lively background for viewing the multiple points of view on display.

Singer/songwriter Erlisha Tamplin (seated left), an Overland Park, Kansas native, played music at the opening reception. Photo: courtesy of the gallery

In fact, when Tamplin began playing her guitar and singing, everyone literally turned to one another and remarked on her amazing musical ability. Several people chatted about Tamplin's reminding them of a young Tracy Chapman. All in all, the evening was a smashing success, and Tamplin’s outstanding musical performance was the perfect ending to an evening dedicated to women exploring their own individual identities.

Notes:
*Produced by the Gallery of Art & Design with support from the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation and the Missouri Arts Council, the 88-page hard-bound catalog highlights the work featured in the exhibition as well as additional works created by each artist with full-color photographs, each artist's biography, and an essay by Weant. (It is available for purchase through the Gallery of Art & Design for $20.)
**Gluzsek is coming to UCM to present a gallery talk on February 18 at noon, and she will host four workshop sessions  at the school's Art Center ceramics studio February 18 and 19 to demonstrate her process. Both events are free and open to all.

-re-