Review

"The Suitor," Assembly of found metal objects.

Ben Hawkins

6-10 p.m.
(Opening reception)

OneVillage a Community Church
5700 Nall
Roeland Park, KS
913.400.2060

Hours after Final Friday: By appointment.
Runs through: March 20.

Artist's site: http://www.whimsicalrubbish.com
Gallery site: http://www.onevillagekc.com

Yesterday evening, Ben Hawkins had just finished hanging his half of the Final Friday show at OneVillage a Community Church when he stopped, did a quick scan of the walls and chuckled.

"This looks almost tribal," he said. "People are going to think, 'Just what kind of church is this?'"

Short answer: Foursquare by affiliation, nondenominational by practice ... and soon to go back to a house-church model. This will be the last Final Friday in the little white church at 57th and Nall in Roeland Park.

And while the art has rarely been conventionally "religious" at OneVillage, it's safe to say that Hawkins' work ensures that things will end on a decidedly zany note. (The other contributor to tonight's opening reception, which will feature music by Briar Cox and Bema Tears, is a painter of sorts who writes about art every day.)

Hawkins, who describes himself as "a mechanic by day and a sculptor of junk by night," is proof of the good things that can happen when creative people teach themselves new art forms.

He crafts his "Whimsical Rubbish" from found and discarded objects, assembling them into figurative sculptures that press all the fun buttons. The six pieces at OneVillage incorporate all sorts of ingredients: not only the obvious auto parts (some of which went into The Suitor, pictured above), but also pots and pans, telephone handsets and a child's toy xylophone. (Also rakes ... lots of rakes.)

Stylistically, Hawkins' work is straight out of the mid-20th century ... not only the era of advertising clip art and Tex Avery cartoons (echoes of both show up in his art), but also the time when many of his salvaged objects first came into being. These pieces don't just recall vintage items ... they are vintage items.

There's a lesson in all of this madcap fun, too, about redemption and reclamation and the imputed worth of things others might deem valueless.

(Hm. Perhaps it's not out of place in a house of worship after all.)

Not to second-guess Hawkins, but his description of his work is only three-quarters right. It's whimsical, absolutely ... but while he might use rubbish as a raw material, the finished product is anything but.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Updating...