ART VIEW by PAULETTE THENHAUS
Barbara Factor & Cheryl Meeker: Textiles and
Ceramic Sculpture
Enter the Galesburg Civic
Art Center in downtown Galesburg and feel an air of solemn stillness. Perhaps
itÕs the circle of tall figures which seem to repeat themselves at the
galleryÕs center, or maybe it is the formality of ceiling to floor textiles
that line the walls. Whichever, one feels that serious thought has been given
to these artworks.
Both the artists are
college educators and involved in the world of art ideas and techniques. This
is revealed in how each explores her own particular media in a distinctly
individualized and exploratory manner.
Barbara Factor introduced
the art community to her 8Õ x 4Õ screened textiles in a recent Galex
exhibition. More of the sacred stone and water prints are in this show. But new
works explore the man-made structures of Chicago architecture. Surprisingly,
the work has the same mysterious presence as did the natural subject matter.
Factor works with transparent, sometimes glistening fabrics, layered over layer,
to achieve subtle depth and movement. She plays with opaque versus transparent.
What is a solid building becomes an ephemeral floating shape right before our
eyes, suggesting anything solid isnÕt forever. Even in the formal precision
that large-scale screen printing exacts, there is a flowing sensuous beauty to
the feel of the materials that Factor successfully juxtaposes.
The eight female figures
which circle the gallery in ÒFall From Grace: Revisited,Ó by Cheryl Meeker, are intended to be
viewed as one piece. The sculpted ceramic figures are faceless and handless
with an emphasis on breasts and wombs. They are elongated and twisted forms
that are fully three dimensional. They vary only slightly from one another.
Because the dyes selected for color are primarily dark and the clay is
scratched repeatedly with small, sharp marks, the grouping takes on an ominous
tone. Though this viewer is not sure what the ÒFall from GraceÓ actually refers
to or why eight similar figures are necessary, the story must be intriguing.
The exhibits are on view
till November 12th at the Galesburg Civic Art Center, 114 E. Main Street in
Galesburg. More info? (309)342-7415 or www.galesburgarts.org