By Lisa Reindorf
This exhibit at the Brickbottom Gallery does a good job of capturing the unexpected moments and surprises that we experience in a city.
Cities Here and There, curated by Alexandra Rozenman. Featuring work by Fred Kasha Simon, Mark Favermann, Dan Coughlin, Liliana Marquez, and Adam Leveille. At Brickbottom Artists Association gallery, 1 Fitchburg St. Somerville, through March 24.
A view of one of the rooms in the Brickbottom Gallery show Cities Here and There. Photo: courtesy of Alexandra Rozenman
The exhibit explores cityscapes — their elements, materials, and patterns. Two of the artists make use of the actual materials utilized in urban construction and repurpose them for their art works.
Dan Coughlin, who has an architectural background, utilizes found materials, such as HVAC ducts, sewage pipes, and wood, and forges totemic architectural sculptures. They have an impact and presence that is both architectural and human scaled. For example, Pinc Elefant is constructed of powder-coated duct work and stands on two legs: it could be a monument or an abstract form of a human striding. Silver ducts in the piece Cocoon curve a sinuous outline on the wall; it is the same size as a human body. What was so effective about these pieces is how they transform building material into work that is strong and large scaled, yet relatable because of the hint of the human form.
The artist Liliana Marquez creates detailed and beautifully crafted art works that are multidimensional. She also incorporates as much re-claimed and surplus materials as is possible in her designs. Using materials such as floor samples, solid surface counter pieces, laminate and metal, she fabricates mini-abstract urban environments. City Vibrations is constructed of vertical pieces of wood and features painted waves of color — it references contemporary architecture and underscores the verticality of the city.
Marquez’s piece MHMM is a standout. A five foot structure on the wall, it is constructed of various sized colored blocks pieced together. The work references Mondrian, yet is totally modern in appearance. It could be interpreted in multiple ways — either as the grid of a city seen from an aerial viewpoint, or the facade of a skyscraper with windows, spandrels, and building panels. City Wave is another Marquez standout; its vertical movement and punctuation conveys the pulsating patterns and energy of the city. These works present a vision of urbanity that is sophisticated, positive, and colorful.
Fred Kasha Simon’s work offers a different take on urban environments. He paints very large city scenes made up of an almost relentless repetition of gridded streets. The geometry of the grid, as well as what it contains, presents endless sources of inspiration, from coffee shops, residences and schools, to garages, repair shops, parks and playgrounds. The structures contain extremely detailed vignettes; mechanics are working on a car, vendors are selling fruit. Some of these scenes are charming; they might have made entrancing paintings in and of themselves. The style is reminiscent of illustrated children’s books; viewers are invited to become lost as they wander the streets to see what is around the next corner.
A view of two works by Liliana Marquez. Photo: courtesy of Alexandra Rozenman
Simon’s work is grand in scale. One can’t help but admire the commitment and tenacity of the artist. Northern City, rendered in colored pencil and oil pastels, is over fourteen feet long and five feet high. The pieces might benefit from some editing and differentiation in scale. Resting spaces for the spectator’s eyes would be welcome. Perhaps a larger park, or building expanse, might offer the needed respite. The repetitive squares of the windows, rectangular buildings and gridded streets offer no escape… but perhaps that is the point?
Now let’s jump from Simon’s panoramic overviews to close-up images. Adam Leveille focuses on particular locations; he paints charming moments of serendipity that one might pop up while walking around the city. While his paintings are stacked with familiar sights: triple-decker houses, street corners, and construction vehicles, Leveille focuses on the beauty that is often overlooked in a bustling city. Inman Square Hardware depicts a store on a street corner in Somerville with its wares stacked up outside. The soft late afternoon light gives both locations a specificity and timelessness. Cleaves Street Rockport shows a church beautifully lit with a balanced and calm stillness.
The small scale of these paintings — approximately 9” x 12” — are intimate and invite closer examination. Leveille experiments with cropped compositions; he creates a focus on a particular place and time that draws the viewer in. On the other hand, his larger scale works, such as Gloucester, a scene of cars and buildings lining a wide roadway, does not capture the viewer’s attention as successfully. If they were painted at an even larger scale then, perhaps, viewers could feel as if they they could step into the scene.
The outlier in the exhibit is the exquisitely crafted works of Mark Favermann. His gorgeous candlesticks, menorahs, and door handles were made from metal. Other than a slight reference to Art Deco design in his stepped silver candlesticks, his pieces don’t connect with the show’s focus on cities. But they are a joy to look at.
Ostensibly the exhibit was intended to reflect the fact that cities exist in a constant state of change — an endless cycle of demolition and redevelopment. That aspect of the theme, however, did not quite come through in the selection of the artists and works. The pairing of Coughlin’s Yellow Submarine wall sculpture — a witty reference to a song, the piece is composed of yellow painting plumbing pipes — with Leveille’s more traditional city view, which contains a streak of the same color yellow, inspires viewers to think about how cities are constructed and evolve. More of these creative pairings — relating the works to each other — would have added more depth to the exhibit. As it is, the works of each artist seems somewhat thematically disconnected from the others in the show.
Still, the materials and patterns that compose the city was well examined through the rectilinear work of Marquez and the geometric gridding of Simon. The city is big, and the possibilities for art work that expresses the urban experience is bigger still. This exhibit does a good job of capturing the unexpected moments and surprises that we experience in a city.
Lisa Reindorf is an architect and artist whose work deals with climate change. She lectures frequently at art and Environmental conferences and is also an arts writer for such publications as Hyperallergic and Miami New Times.