There’s a lot of resonance in Kathy Lovas’ art. Only incidentally sonic, but definitely visual and emotional. Associations personal, familial and to some extent cultural are scattered through the Dallas artist’s mixed media retrospective at Liliana Bloch Gallery.
A wooden chair from a long-ago family dining room sets off waves of associations, even a memento mori. Hung from bits of rope, white porcelain castings of the chair crossrail suggest bones, lettered with Latin words of the “Dies Irae,” the Requiem hymn about the Last Judgment.
Company House: The House is a spread of vertical planks, each topped with an old family snapshot labeled with location rather than names. Index clusters directional signs and distorted photos recalling Lovas’ childhood in northern Wisconsin. Tongue in cheek, Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries evokes Lovas’ years teaching at area universities. Art books are stacked high atop a chunky nightstand, the pile capped with a glass bowl full of crumpled cloth imprinted with cherries.
Hardly art for art’s sake, although it can be appreciated for compositional structures and whimsy, this is art about memory, from vivid to confused to fading. But sometimes it prompts a smile.
Details
Through Nov. 11 at Liliana Bloch Gallery, 4741 Memphis St. 12 to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; Monday and Wednesday by appointment. 214-991-5617, lilianablochgallery.com.