From neophytes to masters: Exhibit features works from UVAL members with varying degree of skills

This exhibit feels a bit flat. The Upper Valley Art League presents their Fall All-Member Exhibit at the Kika De La Garza Art Gallery and, as usual, there is no lack of artworks from this dynamic organization. Demonstrating a range of mediums, styles, and techniques, 49 artists are participating in this show and showing 125 pieces of art.

For me, a large work located in a tight space at the rear of the galley is the most dynamic piece in the show.

“Taimatsu” by Karen Schmidt references a Japanese torch that is lit as a signal or for celebration. Comprised of strips of copper foil, fabric, and yarn, Schmidt’s strips of woven fiber create value contrasts that move the eye to the topmost area where flashes of light from crumpled copper strips symbolize sparks of fire.

Another work demanding attention is Eric’s “Longhorn Jackolope” (sic). This piece creates a humorous Texas icon by taking the Wyoming Jackalope and replacing its antlers with the Texas variety. The Longhorn Jackolope peers at us against a Cadillac Ranch backdrop. Texas lore continues with “Roll Roll Armadillo,” a whimsically designed quilted fabric with acrylic by Renee Darkis. This is a feel-good piece.

“Midas’ Apple,” a resin sculpture by Timothy Watkins, attracts viewers drawn to the strength of the image itself, as well as their curiosity as to whether the apple was a lidded jar, luring them to touch an object cursed by touch.

Watkins warned viewers, “Don’t touch the hand or you’ll turn to gold!” From a past love of flower pressing, he realized that he could use resin to preserve a whole flower, initiating a creative and slippery slope to experimenting and mold-making to cast the resin. This piece presents a life-sized apple cupped in two hands.

Curtis Whately shows an elegant bowl, “Splash,” using glass to reference the iconic motion when an object is dropped in water. The blue sides rise to the edge, culminating in a circular sequence of small white dots that simulate the open areas lying between escaping splash-drops. Two sides are dramatically folded.

A new plastic card work, “When You Fail to Notice” by Noreen Graf, plays on a double meaning. A tiny magnifying glass icon that is needed to read the fine print in credit card agreements is placed among the card fragments; these are the cards of people who didn’t notice the terms and lost their credit. If the viewer fails to notice this icon, they miss the meaning of the work.

There are more notable works here, and as the show statement reads, “As an art league, we encourage the arts among all its members — those who are in early stages of developing their skills and those who demonstrate greater mastery. In this exhibit, you will experience the full range of artful expression.”

The emotional flatness of the exhibition may be the balanced inclusion of master works that exude confidence as well as communicate feelings about their subjects, and novice works that speak of uncertainty. The mixture seeks a middle ground. Engaging pieces are scattered throughout the gallery and sometimes almost hidden, discouraging a desirable aesthetic flow. In addition to the novices there are many new practicing artists participating this year who present fresh interests. All the more art to talk about.

Fall All-Member Exhibit

WHERE: Kika de la Garza Fine Arts Center, 921 E. 12th St., Mission

WHEN: Through Sept. 27

HOURS: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday

CONTACT: (956) 591-0282, www.uppervalleyartleague.org

COST: Free and open to the public

Nancy Moyer, Professor Emerita of Art, is an art critic for The Monitor. She may be reached at [email protected].