REVIEW: Allied Artists Exhibition, Parkerburg, WV
Be sure to peer down the gullett of “WV Bone Fish with Trailer” by David Riffle. Photos of artworks by Sandy Fisher
IF YOU GO: The Allied Artists of West Virginia 65th Juried Exhibition, now showing through Nov. 3, at Parkerburg Art Center, 725 Market St. Call(304) 485-3859. Hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tues. to Sat.; Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.
By Sandy Fisher
For thegazz.com
Emerging artists join old-timers like David Riffle, Raymond McNamara, Caryl Toth and Chris Dutch and Robin Hammer at the Allied Artists Juried Exhibition, now showing at the Parkersburg Art Center. Crafts are engagingly displayed near paintings in this show of 67 works chosen from among 166 entries by juror Wallace Hyleck of Berea College. Wallace chose photographs, sculptiures, pottery, prints and acrylics that would usually be too diverse to be placed side by side. Thanks to the professional look of the art center and expert placing of the works, the effect is a seamless round of colors, textures and forms.
Diversity in style is matched by diversity of artists. Two newcomers are Debbie McHenry and Riley A. Vann. McHenry is an attorney and an acrylic artist. She works by trowling on acrylic paint then scratching into the canvas with toothpicks, forks and her own nails. The result is “Where Dreams Increase,” a colorful human head-like form from which dreams radiate, textured and hot pink, as delicately as flower tendrils. This is a second Allied Artists show for Vann and his patterned photo “Switches” is a striking work. Everday objects — in this case something as prosaic as a group of electric light switches — are given a real depth of meaning.
Young talent gives way to a tried and true professional. David Riffle delivers a mixed-media piece titled “WV Bone Fish with Trailer.” This sculpture literally hangs over your head. It’s fun to peer into the belly of the fish and see that it has eaten Riffle’s trailer. As a retelling of the story of Jonah and the Whale, the work is charming, even as it represents everyday objects we see in West Virginia. The day before seeing the exhibit, I’d spotted a blue heron while walking my dog alongside the Kanawha River and so especially enjoyed the small replica of a heron flying above Riffle’s fish. For me, this is part of the joy of viewing works of area artists– they resonate as I have experienced much that they interpret. Riffle deservedly won an Award of Excellence for his work.
My friends and I from Charleston piled into the car to see this exhibit and then ate dinner on the patio of the Blennerhasset Hotel down the street from the Art Center. The evening was exhilarating and we had fun discussing the art on view. With a show this large, there was much to discuss.
–Sandy Fisher is a Charleston resident.
Despite the diversity of art forms on view, the effect is a seamless round of colors, textures and forms.
