Big Bang, Small Bucks III @ Dean Jensen Gallery

ART TALK- BIG BANG, SMALL BUCKS III @ DEAN JENSEN GALLERY

Dean Jensen Gallery brought the annual Big Bang Small Bucks III exhibition back to his walls for December and January to open 2011. Jensen extends an invitation to 25 artists from Milwaukee, the United States, and even Europe to send a sampling of their inspiration that can be purchased for under $1000.00. While that price tag appears to be out of reach, many of these works might carry higher price tags elsewhere in other locatins, and there are numerous images for significantly less that either the art collector or casual observer will enjoy.  Jensen's considerable experince in the art world gather on his gallery walls, and the hospitable owner will be happy to provide further information on any and each of these artists or their work. The modern space transforms into a place to indulge one's desire to view an impressive collection of diverse art in a variety of mediums or gain further experience in viewing art that might otherwise skip the Milwaukee scene.  Several selections from the show includes the following artists.

JOAN BACKES; This Massachusetts artist constructs a sculpture titled Bronze Paper Tree, a lone, bare branched growth made from paper mache that instills a value to nature even during while expressing its latent winter season.

KITTY HUFFMAN: The Romanian born artist lives in Lyndon Station, Wisconsin while actively pursuing a degree at the Art Institute of Chicago.  Her found object sculpture she calls Broken (The Last Supper) stitches together a loaf of pre-sliced Wonder Bread, and intriguing object to ponder while seeing the hand stitched thread placed throughout this iconic food.

FRANCESA PASTINE: Pastine uses aluminum leaf and graphite over a New York Times page to create images of women's clothing. In Jensen's exhibition this depicts a textured snakeskin like evening gown and a dimensional silver coat titled Invisible Woman # 13 and #16 in her highly imaginative style recalling New York artist Lesley Dill, who further incorporates text or poems in her artwork.

DAVID NEIC: This familiar hometown artist paints elusive and mysterious night skies that capture the essence to the mysterious and eternal universe seen every evening in the rural areas from which he draws inspiration.  A trio of these observations may be contemplated.

CLAIRE STIGLIANI: This new and up and coming former Milwaukee artist recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with her MFA and then moved to teach at the University of Missouri. Jensen features three new mixed media paintings resonating with feminine and fairy tale meaning while her style continually refines.

GERARD SENDREY; The 82 year old self taught artist from France displays his enamels on paper that envision abstract figurative images. Highly acclaimed in his native country, the Milwaukee exhibition provides an opportunity to experience this treasured European artist.

WENDELL A WHITE: The renowned African American art professor displays several black and white photographs from his collection showcasing schools that practiced de facto segregation during the 1960's, only he portrays the schools as they appear, or would appear,  today. By using several digital photographic processes, even if the buildings have been demolished or disappeared, he reimagines them in their contemporary settings. An unsettling and distorted metaphor for the practice often still haunting American culture.  The Guggenheim fellow previously displayed the work at Princeton University and in numerous publications.

Other fine artists in the exhibition included Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design graduate Huey Crowley, Santiago Cucullu (Milwaukee), Harri Monni (Sweden), and Han Viets (New York). Find the time to appreciate Jensen's personal art selections before the exhibition closes on January 30.