Thursday

 I must first say, this was by far the most inspiring, most enjoyable Thursday event planned for this class. I found it difficult to even write this piece about two artists. I was very impressed with the first artist, Robin Crookall at the 4 Culture gallery. At first glance, I thought the photos were merely of tiny models or even taken with tilt shift type photography and edited in Photoshop. After looking closer, I realized many models were made of cardboard. After researching Crookall’s background and further discussion with other students, I realized more than likely she made the scenes herself. To reference, my favorite piece entitled Wear the Fox Hat, features a fox in a deserted house growling at a trap in the center of the room. The fox’s fur stands on his back. The blinds in the window are blowing in the wind. It amazed me to think that these scenes were very small handmade replicas with such attention to detail. Each of Crookall’s works seem to demonstrate a somewhat surreal mood. In this particular show, there also seemed to be not only a continuous color scheme but a repeated theme of contrasting nature with suburban homes. After leaving this gallery and making a few rounds of the triangle of galleries, I walked into Soil gallery and spent time contemplating the works of Elizabeth Kleene. Her work proved to be much more surreal and conceptual. She demonstrates strong use of color and rhythm in her work. I was stopped for some time by her piece Heavenly Bodies. While some distinguishable objective figures are present in this piece, such as a badminton birdie tethered to a rope, it seems the focus is mostly the exotic palette of colors such as coral, neon pink, turquoise, and various dull pastels. The recognizable objects are just present in these melting cosmic landscapes created of shape, color, and crystalline figures. Her work was part of a larger exhibition of artists whose work I found equally stimulating.