The gallery sits next to the lazy waters of the Sugar River.
The folks at either end in the photo above are arty types with their canvases and easels painting away at the bucolic scenery. Perhaps the beginning of the Sugar River School…? Meanwhile the patio is littered with sculptures such as this one:
In the gallery there was lots of ceramics which were quite uncheap.
And one artist had some kind of fowl fetish.
The building is the former Paoli Creamery and the old cooler now serves as a gallery. On display was Marlene Miller's show entitled "Erdklumpen" which featured some rather harrowing clay figures which were made all the more disturbing by the lighting and the sterile tile walls. M, at the tender age of nine, was quite spooked and bounded out of the room almost as quickly as came in.
The pamphlet accompanying the installation was full of classic lines such as "In certain figures, we see a pointed exploration into themes of power, aggression, and war".
Obviously my appreciation for fine art is lacking because that's not at all what I got out of the macabre figures. The smaller ones certainly had a cadaverous feel to them which almost made me feel like I was in a mausoleum. The larger busts generally featured figures dressed in what appeared to be doublets and tunics lending things a medieval air. I was reminded of those plaster casts made at Pompeii of the spaces left by the victims of Vesuvius.
I really liked "Erdklumpen" as it was rather unsettling (German names will do that) in a good way and fit into the autumn perfectly. While it certainly brought death to mind, I didn't get power, aggression, and war out of it like Susanne Nestory of Bradley University. But I guess that's what I get for having unrefined tastes.
The exhibit will be on display through the 26th of this month at the Artisan Gallery.
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