Universal Beauty at Ann Nathan Gallery
by Carrie McGath
And the Great Shroud of the Sea Rolled On...
The atmosphere at Ann Nathan Gallery at the Friday, March 5th opening was warm and genuine; there was no pretense in that room, but a genuine love of the art surrounding us. Everyone I spoke to there had fiercely confident handshakes that also spoke to this sense of sincerity in the room. And after talking to Ann Nathan herself and her flutter of colleagues, I was not surprised the atmosphere felt this comfortable.
To further this atmosphere of discussion, the artist, George Klauba sat in a chair in a corner by his work greeting and talking to guests. He and I looked at the work from Soul of the Sea together, particularly the piece, Ascension to the Stars on Sea Time. I told him immediately that my initial thought about this and many of his other pieces in the exhibit put me in mind of Joseph Cornell, particularly his boxes that dealt with notions of the universe and constellations. Mr. Klauba said I was right on in this observation. “Cornell’s book on celestial constructions grabbed me,” he said. “He has been an inspiration to me, and so have antique star charts.” He told of the inherent connection in his work between the sea and the stars. “There is a correlation between the depths of the sea and outer space. It is potent and truthful,” continued Klauba.
Ascension to the Stars on Sea Time
The potency of the universal beauty is in Klauba’s work as romantic ideologies of the sea and the stars being forever connected as man and nature are connected in a rough and tumble but poignant respect. Ann Nathan talked to me about how she has been a great fan of George Klauba’s work for many years, “This show is every exciting. His first expression with the sea was Moby Dick paintings, now these. George was a sailor for many years, he really feels this.” And that sincerity of experience and emotion tied up with his subjects is definitely unmistakable.
The theme of a universal and meditative beauty continued in the work by Cristina Cordova, Bob Guinan, and Patrick McGarry. These three artists whose work is on display near the back of the Ann Nathan Gallery all speak very differently of the beauty of humanity to nature. Cristina Cordova’s sculpture of a woman shows her attention to the connection between woman and nature, adding a feminine perspective to the show. The sculpture has an organic quality while also participating in a vein of magical realism with contemporary notions of the grief and pressure of modern life. The untitled sculpture of the woman shows signs of frustration while it is a meditation on the beauty of the surreality of human emotion. The black organic forms on wall behind the piece create even more texture in the piece, giving it almost a musical quality to me as if all three pieces were a part of a complex composition rooted in ephemeral experience.
Tashtego
Bob Guinan’s paintings of urban life show another perspective on a universal beauty and speak well to the the Cordova piece that is only several paces away in its meditation on the pressure of the modern world upon humanity. On the Subway depicts a mother and her two children on an almost eerily empty “L” car. Bringing back the feelings of Klauba’s works, I felt both a calm and a complexity of contemplation in this piece. In this oil on linen, I see awkwardness, confusion, love, and understanding all dueling it out in the piece’s narrative simplicity.
Patrick McGarry’s Venus, Cupid, Time, and Folly show us a series of sixty-three small scenarios that combine to make up the large, resulting work. It reminded me of being overstimulated by imagery, almost pursued by it, bringing to mind a Clockwork Orange barrage. But even in its anxious feel, there is a meditative quality that ponders the beauty of universal moments of human life from athletics to industry as if it is also pondering the machinery of existence. The title leads the viewer into thinking it is a catalogue recalling time and the humanity of it, even the mythology of it. The piece comes together and creates a beautiful sepia-blue meditation that attracted aconstant flow of viewers studying each moment in the panel.
The Soul of the Sea exhibition as well as the other works discussed in this review are on view now through the end of March at Ann Nathan Gallery in River North at 212 West Superior. Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. till 5:30 p.m. and by appointment by calling 312- 664-6622.
