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Columbus, Ohio USA

Art: Elizabeth Ann James, Columnist
October 2006

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Sharon Weiss Gallery
Art sizzles at Sharon Weiss Gallery

In art, the genuine creator is not just a gifted being, but a person who has succeeded in arranging for their appointed end, a complex of activities, of which the work is the outcome. – Henri Matisse

Rabbit Talk, by Paul Emory

Sharon Weiss Gallery will continue its sizzling “Salon Show” through October. Sharon, as always, has managed to hang a relatively small, well-lit venue expertly. Her art space is a visual delight. The sophisticated “Salon Show” sizzles because of its well-modulated variety.

I saw the exhibit in September. There were already a number of red “sold” dots on the paintings. Sharon assured me that some of the paintings might shift for October but that the same artists’ work will remain.

There are two new “guys” on the Weiss block.

Lincewicz
Marc Lincewicz creates mysterious, somewhat peculiar, drawings in pen and ink. They’re attractive, original, and appealing, and fall somewhere between design and abstractionism. In a sense, they are line drawings, slightly fleshed out. Yet, Lincewicz’s hallmark, his narrow sculptural stick figure people have not only been rendered in lines, but they consist of lines and marks and so do their backgrounds. The artist uses blacks, reds, browns and whites for his smallish works which are well-framed, decorative in the best sense of that word. Backgrounds have been created with a myriad of fine strokes. Lincewicz is not only talented, he is dedicated.

A piece with two sidelong figures conversing has been entitled Kindness Can Be Tenuous. The two humans depicted are barely touching hands. (But they want to!) Their universe is a complex flurry of pen marks.

In another Lincewicz, Roaming, a multitude of tiny line guys (10 or 15 of them) pose against a solid red background, like groupies. Again, their minute gestures suggest alienation yet the possiblity of connection.

Lincewicz moved here from Cleveland 18 years ago to study at Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD), where he says he had the good fortune to study with Lowell Tolstedt and Walter King, both of whom taught him to develop “a personal, independent voice.”

Behling
Educator John Behling, much appreciated for shows at Civilization Art Gallery and The Piano Gallery, had three or four small watercolor scenes in the September Salon. It’s his first venture at the Sharon Weiss Gallery, and we’ll likely see more of his work there. An accomplished painter and teacher, Behling began studying art around the time Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera were still alive, in post WWII Mexico. Behling’s paintbrush can do what he tells it to, and he was on target when he had his business cards printed with “paintings of bright optimism,” especially when it comes to sunlit interiors and outdoor glimpses of Mexico City or Worthington.

Stern
Rachel Stern, once Behling’s student, was recently awarded first prize for oils in the High Road Gallery’s 2005 All Things Considered painting competition judged by CCAD’s Dean of Fine Arts, Julie Taggart. Stern’s Peck of Pickled Peppers is a marvelous example of painting as painting. There were three small inimitable Stern-scapes in the September Salon. With soft vibrant strokes, this artist can snare your affection for a park, a group, a hat, or a bouquet!
No bigger than a playing card Stacy Leeman’s oil on papers are neat and severe, yet sweet. Certainly a delight for somebody’s bridge nook or study!

Fochtman
Frederick Fochtman’s smallish oil interiors are unabashedly traditional, classic – yet they’re refreshing. They possess an intentional “dustiness,” a pleasing brown-yellow often seen in some old masters. Fochtman was recently juried into the Ohio Art League Show at Rhodes Tower, and he considers Neil Riley at CCAD to be a mentor. Whether depicting a dining room, a study, or his studio, Fochtman’s paintings, at least these, have been rendered in dull warm hues resembling pastels. Classy, brown, lived in. We viewers recognize the small bouquet of blue roses, real or artificial, on top of a small table. They belong there. Fochtman’s work should draw admiration from those who love oils and a “now” yet traditional look.

Shuttleworth
Edwin Shuttleworth III had one painting in the September exhibit, Fauve Landscape #1. The Fauves were the expressionist “wild beasts,” and Shuttleworth’s Fauve is a wham banger, an oil on canvas 60 by 36 inches, it dominated the show, or at least one wall. Here is abstract expressionism at its boldest, with perhaps a touch of the primitive as well. Using thick unabashed blues and greens, Shuttleworth presents what, to me, resembles a raw lake, bluer than blue. Almost an ugly blue. This artist knows about lines, colors, and shapes. A jagged melee of thick strokes represents turbulence. Raw bright stripes suggest sunset, which in part echoes the “lake’s” deep blue. Red-orange balls float on the waves. This painting is bold and alive and knocks you over, and that’s okay with me! The painter himself says the green and haystacked Ohio countryside actually inspired Fauve Landscape #1. And that’s okay by me too! Hey, it’s an abstract painting!

Shuttleworth and his father, a neurologist retired from Ohio State University, Ed Shuttleworth Jr., hope to present another “Father and Son Show” at Sharon Weiss in May 2007, similar to the one offered last December. That should be an exciting event.

Starring Paul Emory
Paul Emory has just returned from an awarded fellowship at Provincetown, Maine, where artists work, teach, and share ideas. His paintings – previously tending toward a darkness tinged with expressionism – have become larger than before and are almost ready to jump off the walls.

Emory’s color has become dramatic and marvelous. Cooper Mill Road with Poppies is a grand painting. Emory paints what he knows and loves, and the affect is daring and superb. He understands thick leafy grass, white fences, lime green shrubbery. He understands tree-lined roads and fields, and he can paint a fabulous ballet of bold poppies. He uses big strokes. The master of contrasts, Emory knows why some trees are gray, others bright with bark. Look carefully, see a black dog curled, napping in long grass to the lower right. See a small yellow Ohio moon peering down from upper right.

From the Massachusetts countryside, Emory has gleaned a modified-realist presentation: a gray farmhouse where yellow daylilies lean over the fence. It’s a fine painting and will be much loved by a perceptive buyer. The same is true of Emory’s own white vintage farmhouse and its tall ancient lilac tree, plein air from the Zanesville area. Hurry, these paintings will sell!

Emory has been twice a winner of an Ohio Arts Council Visual Arts Fellowship. In Provincetown, in conjunction with the support of the Fine Arts Work Center, he spent this last summer painting outdoors, earned a show at The Hudson D. Walker Gallery, and consequently received a positive review in The Boston Globe.

Baroway is Back
Malcolm Baroway will have a solo show at Sharon Weiss in November. He brought paintings in while I was there, and I was delighted. This guy has made his paintings bigger, better, and more complex. He said he guessed that “after several years, he had hit his stride and would continue to get better.” His fetching magenta, used by the Impressionists, lights up his abstract impression of Hide N Seek at Goodale Park. Baroway was carrying a large book, Richard Brettell’s Impression: Painting Quickly in France, 1860 - 1900, and I intend to read it.

The best artists possess humility and pride in the presence of a living tradition. They learn, practice, and go on and on, in fresh new ways. I was uplifted when I saw exciting new works by veterans Emory and Baroway.

Yes, Sharon Weiss exhibits some very good painters. Ray Hassard’s small works, whether of a coffee cup or a piece of cake, are deliciously first-rate. Elaine Freeman has recently come in with new, delicious abstract landscapes: marvelous haiku-like pastels which, at their best, nobody can equal. They’re beautiful and will show soon.

In an experience similar to my visit at Studios on High, I couldn’t write about everybody. Well, maybe next time.
In the meantime, sculptor Nina Menduni, lovely and young, manages to exhibit large white marble and granite sculptures which are wowing everyone.

Sharon Weiss Gallery is located at 20 E. Lincoln St. Open Thursday 12 - 4; Friday and Saturday 12 - 5; Sunday 1- 4. Call 614-451-8165 or 291-5683 for more information.

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