Glass and Graphite
Friday night was the opening reception for two new exhibits at the Dishman Gallery located on Lamar University Campus. The upstairs gallery featured glass pieces by Patrick Martin. The installation was not complete as there no labels on any of the pieces—which might have led to some understanding of the work. My overall impression was every day objects made in a large size coupled with chains or bullets. They were astonishingly well-made pieces but intent was confusing. The artist was there but engaged in conversation with several people who looked like they had fat wallets and were intrigued by what they saw.
The downstairs gallery was “Mark(ing) Time: Expanded Notions in Drawing. One piece was large flower shaped pieces of Mylar with outlines of pink that cascaded from the wall onto the floor; another consisted of a number of small pieces of wood with paper, sticks and string, and plaster mounted on the wall. There were several immense drawings on large sheets of paper that were tacked together almost like a stream of consciousness. One interesting piece contained both drawings and old photographs stuck on the edges in a montage-collage fashion. These were labeled but I was still mystified.
The Eisenhorn collection was open for inspection. This is a collection of assorted paintings and furnishings including a rug and invites a more intimate interaction. The paintings are rather small and dark but with very elaborate frames.
The hotel management class from the University provided the food–cheese, crackers, a beautiful fruit tray and some really great spinach dip made with a lot of cream cheese and garlic. It was probably the best part of the exhibit.
Sylvia Weir Art 