The New Gallery - Thom Andriola - Houston, Texas Contemporary Fine Art

Jay Rusovich "Divine Symmetry" Cheryl Kelley "Untitled (Fire I)" Yun Bai "Why not extend love?" David Levinthal "Blackface Series #3 (watermelon)" Suzanne Banning "Lolita 25 (black tears)"	FOTOFEST 2008 Six Viewpoints February 22 - March 22, 2008 Opening Reception February 22, 2008 6:00 - 8:00 pm Artists: Yun Bai Suzanne Banning Cheryl Kelley David Levinthal Ruta Perzynska Jay Rusovich The works by the artists represented in “Six Viewpoints” although quite different in technique and subject are all tied together by one over-riding concept. In each artist’s work we are confronted with an image or idea that most viewers would not consider an appealing or appropriate vision for art. There are the “blackface” figurines photographed by David Levinthal, the muscle women and men bondage tableaus created by Jay Rusovich, Cheryl Kelley’s “Burning Women”, Yun Bai’s “Porn Flowers” and Suzanne Banning’s “Lolitas”. All are not something most of us would imagine we would want to see in art, yet all of these works share a beauty and vision that is visually and psychologically compelling. The only artist in the show that gives us some relief from the provocative is Ruta Perzynska’s hauntingly empty panorama with a lone figure in a distant desert landscape. In a way, this could represent the aloneness we all experience in a world we perceive as overstocked with temptation and startling visual stimulation. Thom Andriola Director New Gallery

The works by the artists represented in “Six Viewpoints” although quite different in technique and subject are all tied together by one over-riding concept. In each artist’s work we are confronted with an image or idea that most viewers would not consider an appealing or appropriate vision for art. There are the “blackface” figurines photographed by David Levinthal, the muscle women and men bondage tableaus created by Jay Rusovich, Cheryl Kelley’s “Burning Women”, Yun Bai’s “Porn Flowers” and Suzanne Banning’s “Lolitas”. All are not something most of us would imagine we would want to see in art, yet all of these works share a beauty and vision that is visually and psychologically compelling. The only artist in the show that gives us some relief from the provocative is Ruta Perzynska’s hauntingly empty panorama with a lone figure in a distant desert landscape. In a way, this could represent the aloneness we all experience in a world we perceive as overstocked with temptation and startling visual stimulation.