I Dreamed I Saw You, Acrylic on Birch Plywood Construction 37 x 59 x 4 1/2â€
Oscar Wilde may have been right that “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life,” but two new exhibitions at the Tory Folliard Gallery give us two new reasons to be impressed by the power of art to imitate life.
“I am still fascinated by the old simple idea of resemblance,” says sculptor Ron Isaacs, “that an object made of one material can take on the outward appearance and therefore some of the ‘reality’ of another.” Over the course of his 30-year career, Isaacs has perfected the art of imitation—and with the most improbable materials. In the hands of this master of deception, wood is made to resemble the flowing folds of fabric. The artist’s impish and masterful touch is on display in “Other Selves: New Trompe l’Oeil Painted Constructions.”
In “Urban Landscapes,” painter Doug Hatch continues his ongoing study of the “simple complexities” of everyday life. While Hatch’s canvasses capture moments in time, they are primarily inspired by the hustle and bustle of city life. Hatch has an eye for moments of quiet drama and he renders them with a fidelity that infects the viewer with a sense of anticipation for the changes to come. One is almost surprised, for instance, when the painted traffic light refuses to turn green.
“Urban Landscapes” and “Other Selves: New Trompe l’Oeil Painted Constructions” open on Friday, April 17 with an artist’s reception from 6-9 p.m.
“Kiki’s Paris”
David Barnett Gallery
1024 E. State St.
In the early 20th century, Paris was the capital of the art world. Described by Ernest Hemingway as a “moveable feast,” artists congregated in the City of Light to live a life of creativity, bohemian moral laxity and tuberculosis. “Kiki’s Paris,” at the David Barnett Gallery from April 17 until July 18, conjures the lost world of 1920s Paris through photographs and art by some of the era’s great talents. Man Ray, Juan Miró, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Eugène Delacroix and Pierre-Auguste Renoir are just a few of the celebrated artists whose works will be on display. An opening reception will be held on Friday, April 17 from 5-9 p.m.
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“What’s Happening” in Dance at Kenilworth Open Studios
Kenilworth Square East
1925 E. Kenilworth Place
Many graduates of UW-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts have scaled the heights of the art world. Sarah Weber Gallo (MFA 2013), now in her tenth season dancing with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, is one such alumna. As the recipient of UWM’s sixth annual New Work Award, Gallo has choreographed the music of lately departed Milwaukee icon Martin Jack Rosenblum—who was additionally a poet, professor and the official historian of Harley-Davidson. The work will be previewed during Kenilworth Open Studios on April 18 from 11-2 p.m.
