In the exhibit “Wildlife Watching,” Charles Munchdisplays his new oils on canvas. Since the 1980s, Munch has transformed hisfigurative realism into landscape paintingscompositions that incorporate shapeand form, where man interacts exclusively with nature. Often man appears to bethe master of this domain, though other images portray him as more subservient.
Painting with smooth, matte-finished colors, Munchdelineates his stylized nudes, animals and landscapes using thick, bold lines.In his painting Three Friends I,an animal stands between two humanfigures as all three faces stare directly at the viewer with apprehensionstatue-likevisages questioning this natural order.
In another oil, Motherand Fawn, a woman calmly holds an infant deer in her lap. While theseimages infer poetic themes recalling dreams or ancient myths, they also causeviewers to wonder if man tends to nature, merely tolerates this relationship,intrudes with concern, or dominates the animals and environments with which hecomes into contact.
In the exhibit “Chris Berti: New Sculpture,” Bertifeatures fish, locusts, moths and birds carved from reclaimed brick, marble orwood. When fashioning his detailed artwork, Berti fuses the material’sintrinsic, organic nature with these realistic creatures. Expertly conceived inhis sculpture titled School,10 life-size fish carved in walnut,hickory and olive wood appear to swim in synchronization while mounted on thegallery wall.
Berti’s miniature sculptures envision turtles, geeseand mountain goats emerging from vintage rusty red brick. He allows theman-made materials to retain their individual integrity, true to their uniquecolor and form, as the animals appear to visually materialize from inside thesefragmented relics. This approach illustrates that the object or animalintimately carved by Berti embraces both the brokenness and the beauty inherentin the modern world and, ultimately, each individual.
Though Munch’s paintings definitely intrigue theobserver, Berti’s sculptures require further contemplation to uncover hisironic surprisesas is apparent in his eloquent piece Seek,in which a pair ofopened hands carved from reused drainage tile transforms into a prophetic headstone when viewed from the opposite side. Eachexhibit evokes a feeling of harmony, yet the ecological tension between man andnature unfolds as well.
Both exhibitscontinue at Tory Folliard Gallery through Oct. 10.
