Issue #50, March 23, 2007

art commentary

Part III SURPRISING PLACES: Gallery Merz

With Marion Wolberg Weiss

Sag Harbor’s Gallery Merz has continued to maintain its reputation for unusual, quirky art. Thus, it certainly qualifies as a “Surprising Place.” That’s not to suggest that the gallery features work that comes and goes with the seasons. It does suggest that idiosyncratic artists are welcome here, like Charles Waller and David Suter in particular, in addition to more traditional artists. Simply put, there’s room for both conceptual and conventional styles here. We’d like to see even more conceptual, over-the-edge pieces in the future, too.

Let’s start with the “edgy” works, which are always a delight and a challenge to interpret. Mr. Waller, Mr. Suter, and newcomer Keith Long have a penchant for materials, texture, found objects and, often, multi-dimensional perspectives. These themes can be seen in Mr. Suter’s mirrors and diverse styles, such as primitivism and Cubism.

The found objects in Mr. Waller’s “Pirate Whale,” like the bone and lock, contribute not only “attitude” to this whimsical piece, but the idea of assemblage as well. Moreover, the artists prove that art and craft can co-exist and that craftsmanship and content are equally important. It is also interesting that these quirky pieces are folk art.

A good example of this last idea is Mr. Long’s wood hangers made from mahogany furniture pieces. They simultaneously function as hangers and beautiful sculptural forms. Regarding sculpture, Mr. Suter’s three-dimensional shapes have a true “attitude” and each figure assumes a character of its own, including the standing owl, which assumes humanlike traits.

There are more conventional works in the show, such as Ruth Nasa’s movie poster that highlights stars like Kate Hudson and attempts to bridge the gap between pop culture and art. Tom Lulevitch’s figures, painted in a cross-form, also recall pop culture images, depicted upside-down in a non-conventional way.

Then there are works by James Dela-Volpe and Jane Johnson, which represent different degrees of abstraction. Mr. Dela- Volpe’s paintings are geometric and colorful; Ms. Johnson’s work is more impressionistic and dreamlike. While Ms. Johnson’s work shows little of the hard-edged quality demonstrated by other artists’ paintings, such muted ways of depicting nature have become just as important to artistic vision.

The current show will be on view at the Gallery Merz until April 20.