Reconnections
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| "Muses" by Beth Lindenberger |
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| "Deathbed" by Sherry Bradshaw |
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| Antimony Bottle" by Donna Webb |
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| "Spill Over" by Donna Webb |
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| "Glyph Cairn" (left) and "Spiked Cairn" by Beth Lindenberger |
By Tom Wachunas and
others
“My surfaces are based on microscopic organisms and
natural objects. I am interested in responding to nature, not copying it.
Whether seen as individuals or in a group or system, I see these pieces as part
of a larger environment.” – Beth Lindenberger
“I collect artifacts that wash up on the Lake Erie
shoreline or end up at the side of the road… turning original identities into
something magical yet absurd. I am
interested in the paradox between beauty and death. And, I also love bird watching.” – Sherry Bradshaw
“…Repetition provides a key to scientific
understanding of species and of all other forms of knowledge. Variation also
pops up everywhere. These exceptions keep us from becoming complacent and
provide fresh reason for staying engaged in research. The meaning of the
exception to the rule allows for interpretation, and therefore art and poetry.” – Donna Webb
EXHIBIT (ended on
April 9, 2022): At The Lemmon Visiting Artist Gallery, in the Fine Arts Building
at Kent State University at Stark: Natural Order: Accumulating Meaning
- ceramic sculpture by Beth Lindenberger (curator), Sherry Bradshaw, and
Donna Webb, exploring themes connecting art, science, and collaboration. / 6000
FRANK AVENUE NW, NORTH CANTON, OH
Unexpected and
daunting personal circumstances have recently wrecked my time and concentration.
One regrettable casualty has been my blog activity, including offering a more
timely review of this enthralling exhibit. Ironically enough, this situation
has transpired while I’ve been teaching a course at Kent Stark called “Arts
Engagement,” which focuses on practices and techniques of writing about
contemporary art.
So consider this
post my soft reentry into the land of the writing, but with a twist. Here’s a
review composed by multiple authors, including my ten Arts Engagement students.
I’m proud of their mindful attentions to the marvelous works presented by three
truly remarkable artists. Each student wrote a review essay, and so I present
here, with much gratitude, edited excerpts. They collectively capture the
overarching spirit of the show while resonating solidly with my own appreciation
of the exhibiting artists’ works.
Of Beth
Lindenberger’s porcelain Protista: Dispersed, Caden Haines wrote, “… as a material, porcelain is often seen as
fragile and delicate. But to me, this work harnesses those fragile and delicate
qualities in order to shift that impression. The spikes look as if you tried to
pull on them they would easily snap, and yet they give off this air of defense
and protection.”
Observing Donna
Webb’s Spill Over, Paige Johnson noted, “… Each tile creates a mood. For
example, while the bottom left tile works quite wonderfully with the whole
piece, looking at it by itself is very calming… It reminds me of rain on glass,
hitting the surface and trickling down slowly.”
Sherry Bradshaw’s Pegasus
(an altered invisible horse kit with bird feathers) prompted this response
from Ashley Winn: “Inside each creature is the better, bigger version. When a
cat looks in the mirror does it see itself as a tiger, lion, perhaps a cheetah?
Does a horse see its reflection in water and see a Pegasus? I feel with this
piece, every horse, deep down, is a Pegasus.”
About Donna Webb’s Quest with
Redwing Blackbirds, Alex Snyder offered, “Overall, the piece holds a
certain energy for viewers, a fascination with the journey these blackbirds are
taking, almost as if we are witnessing a brand new world outside our own cage…”
Here’s Samuel Gentile, on Beth
Lindenberger’s Glyph Cairn: “… something as simple as stacked stones
implies importance. These human-made constructions could have multiple meanings,
such as remembering an achievement on a mountain plain; a warning to be wary of
creatures in a dense forest terrain; or a ceremony for loved ones who have
passed. The use of the crackle glaze gives the stones an appearance of rust, generating
a feeling, as if discovering an artifact hidden away for years.”
In his comments on Donna
Webb’s Antimony Bottle with Strange Particles, Thomas Pedrotty wrote, “…The
small particles floating around the work help elevate it from something
relatively simple to a more complex analogy of a galaxy of possibility in the
jar…I now have a greater appreciation for the infinite possibilities of
ceramics…”
Sarah Vega wrote of
her viewing experience, “…I was met with, if not overwhelmed by, wordless
stories about the beautiful fragility of life… This show is a story written by
the dwarves who could not bear to hide Snow White’s beauty even in death. I
felt the memory of the fairy tale, ghostly yet comforting, surround me as I
wandered through the poetry.”
Similarly, from
Christine Rogers, “… this exhibition is a raw experience of nature’s Oroboros
of life and death, or the beautifully tragic tale of the circle of life… You
can walk yourself through the gallery full of whimsy, but it will keep your
feet grounded in the reality of the world we live in.” And Nicholas Hoover
concurred: “… Both in process and form, themes of life and all of its cycles
are present, from the smallest cell, to the local wildlife, even to the fungus
found, all treated with immense respect. All of the works complement each other
and build on one another.”
And finally, this
gem from Jessica Morton: “The exhibition is a liminal space where science meets
spirituality. Sculptural artists Donna Webb, Beth Lindeberger, and Sherry
Bradshaw, along with two-dimensional works by Jack McWhorter, create a space
where the repetition and variation of life and nature are captured. The
accumulation of works suggests a life cycle throughout time, from single cell
to multicellular, from birth to death, transforming the gallery into a
transcendent biorepository.”
