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Orleans
houses ‘Trailblazers and Love’
By Hannah Pittard It’s February. There’s an exhibition titled “Objects of Desire.” The show’s postcard bears an image of a heart. It isn’t difficult to see where this is headed: Valentine’s Day, romance, love. But to classify “Objects of Desire” simply as an exhibition showcasing sentimental Valentine-themed work is to sell this show short its true beauty and value. Gracing much of the wall space at Orleans Gallery is work by perennial favorites and SCAD alumni Fred Jesser and Marcus Kenney. Jesser’s three pieces — “Horseplay,” “Voice of Creation: The Simplifying Lessons of Nature (from the Thomas Kinkade Series)” and “The Unhurried Imagination (from the Thomas Kinkade Series)” — are exactly what you’d expect (and hope) them to be without being predictable. The three-paneled “Horseplay” features wild horses and Camaros, while “Voice of Creation” reveals the strange world of even stranger cherubs hidden amidst tall green grass. Typical of Jesser, the cherubs have not gone unmolested: atop one’s shoulders rests a lion’s head, while another cherub rides a miniature zebra. Kenney treats audiences to a total of six pieces, from “Ready to Wear,” with its paperback romance novel covers, vintage paper doll clothing and marbleized paper, to “Mourn,” whose list of ingredients includes a magnolia and nails among other things. Michael Scoggin’s “Dear Jill,” a three-50-by-60-inch-page love letter to an acquaintance last seen six years ago, keeps the exhibition focused on oversized desire without becoming saccharine. Like the message written across Kenney’s “And Love,” “February — the month of trailblazers and love,” “Objects of Desire” is mindful of the sentimentality associated with February and its infamous holiday without sacrificing the ruthlessness and ambition present in any powerful exhibition. Scoggins, Kenney and Jesser are joined by Kurt Schulz, Danielle Lamberson, Julio Garcia, Burr Dodd, Heath Montgomery, Heath Hardee, Kara D’Angelo, Amanda Leibee, Katrina Schmidt-Rinke, Woodie Webber, Kirsten Nadine Hough and Troy Wandzel. Although several pieces (for example, Garcia’s “Broken I” and “Broken II” and Schulz’s “Dot Project Paintings”) have been displayed previously and even recently, “Objects of Desire” is far from stagnant and even further from sentimental. “Objects of Desire” is on display at Orleans Gallery, 201 Barnard St., through Feb. 24. |
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