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A Closer Look At A 'Body' Of Work

Art Review

Paintings, Sculpture, Mixed Media On Exhibit In 'Sublime Structure' At C. Grimaldis Gallery

September 03, 2009|By Tim Smith , tim.smith@baltsun.com

A couple of large, sculptural pieces hanging from the ceiling, "Vertebrae: Grouping" and "Origins Unknown" by Rachel Schmidt, make quite a statement. Composed of wire and thread, they could be the insides of alien beings, with enough tissue and sinew left on the bone to be refleshed and animated at any moment. Schmidt's fabric and wood object, "You Get What You Pay For," is a red dress with a jumble of human hands grafted onto the skirt portion, reaching out, as if in pain or supplication.

Schmidt's mixed-media cluster of little wooden boxes, "Dr. Schmerlinger's Wunderkammer," uses discarded material from various other projects to create a haunting curio cabinet.

Lu Zhang's fascinating pieces in the show are white panels animated by minuscule dots of black tar gel forming intricate shapes and clusters that, like mysterious protozoans observed under a microscope, seem to swim across the surface.

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The diptychs of Christopher Myers offer, on one side, female bodies shot in black and white with almost religious lighting; on the other, color close-ups of the digital code from the photos. The act of translating a human body into an incomprehensible numerical language - a photographic DNA - provides its own distinctive structure and beauty, its own take on the "sublime."

If you go

"Sublime Structure" will be on exhibit through Oct. 3 at C. Grimaldis Gallery, 523 N. Charles St. There will be a panel discussion with the artists at 3 p.m. Sept. 12. Call 410-539-1080 or go to cgrimaldisgallery.com.

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