HAMMOND, LEWIS, VODVARKA, VAN WYK, KUIPER, SIMPSON (Jan Cicero Gallery, 433 N. Clark, 644-5374).

In the parlance of restaurant reviews this exhibit served up six hors d’oeuvres satisfying to the plate, Idele Hammond’s self-contained graphite drawings of often twined house motifs have a private, almost mystical, nature as the form wavers ambiguously between typifying a specific image and being merely expressive gestural marking that veil as they define.

The two interior photo emulsions of Barbara Lewis are striking images–their obscuring, lurking darks cast a private mood across each and act as an abstracting device making the image in these two pieces more elusive than the more specific sidewalk scene. Here again the accidental gesture of the process, if not the artist’s hand, acts to make the image more ambiguous.

Gesture and marking, which seems to be a reemerging factor in art, is principal in all these works and is a primary factor in Hester Simpson’s pieces. Her work is based upon automatic/kinetic marking which in her case is a tenuous, private diary of gestural moves of very fragile and not overly striking quality.

Jim Kuiper’s suave abstractions are characterized by expressive paint washes that partially obscure/overlay a ridged gridding (hopefully we are bidding fond adieu to this vanguard cliche as it fades from artist’s work). This scumbling and gridding is contrasted on the paint surface with kinetic pencil markings. These are works safely and competently within an attractive genre of abstraction.

Frank Vodvarka’s photo transfer/drawings are serial oriented. In each he repeats a single image–horse, telephone, elephant–several times subtly altering each repetition without giving particular focus either to the image or the means of expression so that his work seems more suspended between ideas than fully pointed.

Jake Van Wyk’s dynamic, simplified marking animated by asymmetrical compositions are expanded symbolic forms. As in most every case one wished that there was a larger body of work to view–a need to sample the entree of each artist’s work more before tasing the full flavor of their individual expressions.
Price Range: $100-$200

D.P.