Greymatter Gallery is probably one of the smallest art venues in the city. Given the compact nature of its real estate, it means exhibitions are about quality over quantity in every respect.
The current show, “Bridge Work 03,” is the last at Greymatter as directors Zina Mussmann and Rachel Quirk are refocusing time and energy on their studio practices. For this final endeavor, artists Jason S. Yi and Leah Kolb of Plum Blossom Initiative have organized the third annual Bridge Work program. Emerging artists, transitioning from art school degree programs to the professional world, receive the benefits of mentorship and exhibition opportunities. In this year’s show, the three young artists share a sense of purpose as well as unique turns of style in their media.
In his prints, Allen Lasky favors a black-and-white palette to suggest fragmented architectural forms on a large scale. He creates layered images referencing buildings and construction that live in tension with ranges of white negative space. Our perspective shifts like we are witnessing a crumbling memory of a cityscape. Sculptures accompany the prints, as though architectural detritus has tumbled to the gallery floor.
LaNia Sproles’ collages are also monumental and mounted directly on the wall, eschewing the conventions of framing. Papers spill out and meld together, with some figures cut in silhouette while others are meticulous graphite portraits. Kindred seems to float as gold paper legs and arms swirl or dance, while multiple heads entwine within a body of light and dark clouds of dense pattern.
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Also bridging the realm between the recognizable world and abstraction are Allison Krenz’s photographs. An image of two fish, their mouths touching while the coldness of their eyes acknowledges death, is strange and unnerving. This effect is also felt in other images of swordfish bodies that glow in vibrant colors against deep black backgrounds. Krenz’s project ponders conventions of beauty and its relationship to the grotesque. It is a question that has been rolling around the annals of modern and contemporary art for decades, and is still worth addressing in the work of the next generation of artists.
Through Dec. 2 at Greymatter Gallery, 207 E. Buffalo St., Suite. 222.
