THE BODY PROJECT JUNE 9 through SEPTEMBER 6, 2001
Ten artists--sculptors, painters and a photographer--use the human body as subject, object and primary focus of their work. For some of the artists, the human body is the nuclear planetary body around which the rest of the universe revolves. For others--Nicolas Africano and Viola Frey, both sculptors--the body stands alone without accompaniment or adornment.	George Phhakadze, Apples of Dissension (Erida), 2000, acrylic and oil on canvas, 32 x 24 inches
Nicolas Africano, Reclining Figure, 2001, cast glass, 5 x 29 x 14 inches
In Webster's Dictionary, among the many definitions of the word, "body" is defined as follows: "the frame or physical part of a man or woman," "reality as opposed to representation," "flesh or material substance, as opposed to spirit." Figure, on the other hand, is defined as "the shape or outline of the human body," "a likeness or representation of a person," "the human form." In this exhibition, the body as "flesh and physical part" sets the tone, a contemporary honoring, not unlike the celebration of the body in Greek and Roman art.
Nick Palermo, Woman Disrobing, 1997, oil on linen, 60 x 66 inches
Sculptors included in the exhibition are: Nicolas Africano who creates timeless, evocative cast-glass sculptures inspired by his wife and muse, Rebecca. In Reclining Figure, the female figure reclines in glowing white nudity, lost in a trance of thought, her hair filled with energy, her body at rest in complete repose. While totally naked, her sensuality is a quiet one, less sexual than an object of reverence. In his Dancer (Hands in Front of Her), Africano depicts his muse dressed in the garb of a dancer, her feet covered in what look like soft ankle boots. Her hands clasped in front of her are filled with grace and emotion; her face looks into eternity, a symbol of pure contemplation.	Nicolas Africano, Dancers (Hands in Front of Her), 2000, cast glass, 24 x 7 x 5 inches
Viola Frey, Seated Nude, 1989, ceramic, 66 x 85 x 47 inches	Viola Frey, Sevres Figurine (Tile Wall), 1999, ceramic, 100 x 71 inces
Viola Frey's Seated Nude is a heroic honoring of woman, every woman. She sits about seven feet in height. An elbow rests on one bent knee, the other leg supports her curvaceous body, dressed in its pink birthday suit. Though unclothed, Frey's monumental sculpture hardly feels like a traditional nude. She is a joy-filled being brimming with life force. Also included in the exhibition is a ceramic tile wall filled with bodies, figures, figurines, the stuff of Frey's vocabulary.
Mark Depman's Cibachrome photograph, The Fireplace, is a poetic look at the body in various forms: a collage of cascading images; the body of a sleeping dog; the body of a young boy depicted in an iridescent green electro-luminescent panel (a work by the artist); a small watercolor (by the artist) of body positions in sepia tones; a beautiful nude in postcard form from a beloved artist. The many body images coalesce into a moody, thought provoking tone poem of a photograph accompanied by the stuff of daily life in Depman's home--scotch tape, scissors, calculator.	Mark Depman, The Fireplace, 2001, cibachrome, 20 x 30 inches
David Bierk, Requiem for a Planet, to Ingres, 2001, oil on canvas, 28 x 41 inches David Bierk, Memory of a Planet, to Ingres, 2001, oil on canvas, 23 x 42 inches	Painters in the exhibition are: David Bierk whose new paintings pay homage to one of his favorite masters of art history, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Applying inkjet photos to canvas, he combines photography and painting, contemporizing images of the past. Bierk depicts Ingres' famous bather, a woman's body seen from the back, and his well-known woman in blue dress. Both are painted in the artist's contemporary style with energy, brilliant palette and broad brush strokes. The woman in blue dress is flanked right and left with romantic landscapes, a luminous triptych.
Rafael Ferrer's paintings of the '80s were a joyful celebration of the human body, particularly women at a sandy beach observed by others. In Y En Donde Nacsiste Tu? (Where Were You Born?) A group of young boys play soccer in the background as two women kiss in azure waters. The curving lines of the women's bodies convey life force like the statues of Indian temples, which surge with the dance of life.	Rafael Ferrer, Mala Fe y La Memoria II, 1985 oil on canvas, 60 x 84 inches
Rafael Ferrer, ?Y En Donde Naciste Tu? 1985, oil on linen, 60 x 84 inches	Rafael Ferrer, Self-Portrait, 1997, steel and calabash, 64 x 20 x 26 inches
Juan Gonzalez, Mar de Lagrimas (Sea of Tears), 1987-1988, watercolor/gouache on paper, 27 x 43 in.	Juan Gonzalez's Mar De Lagrimas (Sea of Tears) is a dream-like vision of a sea in which sit seven men. On the horizon between sea and sky is a head, inspired by Brancusi's sleeping head, of the artist himself. At the top of the drawing is a rose for each of the male bodies, a dedication of flowering for the life cycle of living and dying in human kind and in nature.
Joseph Raffael's series Lannis en Sieste, of the mid-'80s, depicts his wife in several states of rest and repose. In fourteen different positions of a nap, he paints her in a flowered dress. The large-scale watercolors in this series fuse woman and nature. It is the body beneath the dress and the dress as covering for the body that are the subject, object and focus of the watercolors.
Joseph Raffael, Lannis in Sieste XIV, 1988, watercolor on paper, 69 x 44 inches	Joseph Raffael, Lannis in Sieste XIII, 1988, watercolor on paper, 66 x 44 inches
George Pkhakadze's Three Graces reference Greek and Roman sculpture. The Graces hold a libation bowl overhead and dance in circular fashion, unaware of their beauty.	George Pkhakadze, Licentia Poetica, 2000, acrylic and oil on canvas, 29 x 18 inches
Mike Chapman, Kris, 1997, cibachrome, 50 x 42 inches	Mike Chapman, Ray, 1997, cibachrome, 57 x 39 inches