The celebrated minimalist painter and sculptor Ellsworth Kelly had three collages in the show—collages that began with picture post cards, the sort a tourist might send, to which cut-and-paste elements were added. Sometimes the new element is other image; sometimes a geometric shape in black or white. In each instance, the effect of the small work is arresting.
There are also collages by John Ashbery. Who knew this preeminent American poet is also a collagist? Well, lots of people, I would imagine, after his solo show at Tibor de Nagy Gallery in New York City last fall. Of the two dozen collages that made up the show at Tibor de Nagy, two are in the Spencertown exhibit: Chutes and Ladders II (for Oliver Brossard)—based on the classic “game of rewards and consequences” which originated in colonial India—and Norman’s Woe—an appealing, though ever so mildly sinister surrealistic combination of Victorian images.
Completing the exhibition are collages by three more Columbia County artists: Fern Apfel, Joy Taylor, and Joel Carreiro. Apfel’s satisfyingly spare works—composed of layered inks and collage—have books as their subject matter. Another collage appealing for use of a classical theme and a familiar image is Taylor’s Rebirth of Venus.
The Fourth Annual Festival of Books continues next weekend. Visit the Spencertown Academy website spencertownacademy.org for detailed event information.
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