In the show of etchings at Anchor Graphics titled “Ladies and Gentlemen,” several images reveal a theatrical bent, which is hardly surprisingly given the show’s title. Stephen M. Nepsa’s works are the only ones to incorporate color. His figures have a ghoulish look and are placed in macabre settings, yet there’s an underlying humor. In “Firearms, Alcohol and Tobacco,” several spooky looking folk stand guard with amused smirks over a skeleton in a coffin. One toasts the occasion with champagne and a cigar; another holds a firearm, leaving us to wonder whether the death is mourned or celebrated. Chris Beverwyk’s more dramatic settings reflect the influence of contemporary Japanese comic books. And Geoffry Smalley’s “I con: Americana” jumbles together images, such as cowgirls and dice, that symbolize that popular American playground, Las Vegas. By limiting his palette to black and white, the artist has added a somber tone to a landscape usually blinding in its color and cacophony. The exhibit continues at Anchor Graphics, 119 W. Hubbard through Oct. 11.
In Gallery A’s exhibit “Read: Text and the Visual,” the nine artists incorporate text or the idea of reading in paintings, drawings, sculptures and installations. Lesley Dill’s large photograph , “A Mouthful of Words,” conveys a powerful image of a woman consuming words. Dill took the photograph, scraped off the emulsion, covered it in charcoal and hand sewed text from contemporary poems on the portrait’s surface. Stephanie Rowden’s audio installation “The Reading Room” eloquently emphasizes the power and importance of words in a ungimmicky audio installation. A library may appear to be a still, quiet place, but the books encased in this one make sounds, sights and thoughts come alive. Rowden’s implied caveat: books and libraries should never be eliminated in spite of technological advances. To stress this message, Rowden built a large oak library table, atop which she placed books she crafted. Each opens to reveal a hole through which the reader figuratively descends — almost like Alice falling through the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. The hard-to-decipher sounds are clearly irrelevant. What is important is the process of opening a book and being surprised by its content. The show runs at Gallery A, 300 W. Superior St., through Oct. 11.
In Don Stahlke’s latest show , titled “Cornucopias,” to symbolize the abundance of fruits and vegetables on display, Stahlke moves beyond his past shows’ tatooed fruit, which were a metaphor for the transience of life. Here, there are three-dimensional ceramic fruits and vegetables, plates with painted foods and collages of food on the wall. Some are organized horizontally on a skewer, ready for cooking, sharing and eating. Others are set vertically to suggest a totem pole. His stack of juicy pink steaks, each with a belt, reveals his sense of humor. The only works lacking artistic merit are the dark, clunky loaves of bread. The show continues at the Aron Packer Gallery, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., through Oct. 4.