Artists show emotion in Abstract Show

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[August 21, 2015]  LINCOLN - The Lincoln Art Institute in downtown Lincoln opened a new show by members of Logan County Arts on Thursday evening. The theme this month is ABSTRACT.

More than most styles, abstract calls upon the artist to take some familiar object or theme, and with color and design and emotion change it into something that may be unrecognizable, at least to the casual viewer. To the artist though, this mash up may be the truest expression of their spiritual values and vision.

The range of styles in the ABSTRACT Show encompasses paintings to poetry, installation art, to sculpture. The members of Logan County Arts gave free reign to their imaginations.
 


Cheryl Spove’s organic sculpture “Still Lives” is an expression of her deeply held spiritual beliefs. Depending on how the word “Lives” is pronounced, the sculpture can have multiple meanings. If the word is pronounced with a short i, the meaning is an expression of Cheryl’s beliefs that when something dies, a part of it lives on. Her sculpture is composed partially of a gourd that is no longer hanging from a green vine, but has reached another state. While the gourd may no longer be a living thing, the surface is. The beautiful shapes and colors on the surface are decoration produced by natural evolution of living organisms. A series of events was set in motion after the gourd died, in this case a physical change. “The change can be metaphysical as well as physical,” she said.

Rob Swofford also believes that emotions find expression in the abstract style. “My inspiration for a work depends on the day. I’m more of a responsive artist rather than proactive. My emotions make my art more sincere,” he said. His self-portrait is a case in point. He chose incidents in his life and created a work that knitted them together on canvas.

Poet Vern Phillips headed in a different direction stylistically from his usual work. He chose a style called mesostic in which a highlighted word placed vertically within the body of the poem ties all of the lines together. Phillips is considering a book composed of his poetry and the photography of Gaye Simpson.

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Jason Hoffman created an installation at the show that is multi-layered. The rows of different sized baggies contain paint chips. While this may seem a whimsical use of leftover paint, the work has a very serious foundation and ethic. Jason chose baggies because of their sinister use in the drug culture, and filled them with paint rather than drugs to highlight his conviction that a world with more art will inevitably be a better place. While all of the works in the ABSTRACT show are for sale, Jason’s idea is to sell his work by the baggie for a person to take home and create art rather than sorrow, as is always the case with illicit drugs. “Each bag is an individual sculpture,” he said.

ABSTRACT runs through the end of August at the Lincoln Art Institute. Contact Moses Pinkerton at 217-651-8355 to schedule a visit to the gallery after opening night. The next presentation at LAI will be a one man show by Lincoln artist Jason Hoffman entitled COSMOS 6528. The opening will be Saturday, September 26 beginning at 5 p.m. An artist lecture will be held at LAI on Wednesday, October 14 at 7 p.m.

[Curt Fox]

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