"Origins to Endings" at Altered Esthetics

Tonight I went to the gallery opening for Origins to Endings at Altered Esthetics. I've been wanting to make it to the gallery for years now, but this was my first time there.

AE has been around since 2004, and I learn from their website that they are entirely volunteer-run. Their website states: "Altered Esthetics provides a venue where artists can create "art for art's sake" - not because it will match somebody's couch." So, pretty noble aspirations. I appreciate the love of art that goes into an organization like this. It takes a lot to ask people to volunteer their time. I think people do it because they are compelled to, from deep down. They know that what they do deserves payment but they will do it anyway, for free, because they don't know how they would exist without it. That's the beauty of an artist- run organization. It's also why so many are just holding on by their teeth. I hope the best for AE- they seem to be a little organization with a lot of heart.

As for the show, there was very little description in the program notes, or in their publicity. The publicity blurb reads: "An exhibit that examines the mysteries of life. From creation to the afterlife, evolution to the flood, artists explore the stories and legends of how things were, have been and will be." What I found this to mean was art that depicted ghosts, gods and saints, with the occassional scary clown and skeleton.

While the some of the works delve deep into the macabre, such as Patrick Vincent's eerie prints of skulls and bones and Gail Kern's grotesque political "horseman of the apocalypse" paintings, other works offer images of mythic and spiritual symbolism. I was entranced by Melody Williams's ceramic sculpture decorated with glass beads "The Seduction of the Innocent", based on C.S. Lewis's "Perelandra" and her "Guaia", a magnificent depiction of the earth mother goddess made with clay and twigs.

Jennifer LaCasse offers a completely different spin on the theme, critiquing the role that extreme religion plays in society. Her large, realistically painted nightmares show the horrors of religion when it controls people's lives.

I'm definitely glad I took the time to stop by the exhibit. Hopefully I'll be able to see future shows at Altered Esthetic as well.

Here are a few of the works that can be seen on the artists' mnartist pages:

Promethea, by Erika Tenjack, Intaglio

Martyr by Jennifer LaCasse, Acrylic, charcoal and mylar on canvas, 30 x 48.

Baptism, by Jennifer LaCasse, Acrylic, charcoal and mylar on canvas, 36 x 48.

That Old Time Religion, by Jennifer LaCasse Acrylic, charcoal and mylar on canvas, 48 X 96.

1st, 3rd, 3rd, and 4th Horseman of the Apocalypse

Old Testament Mosaic, by Julie Reeve Stained glass and beads

Cowboy Crow Rides the Pale Horse of the Apocalypse by Patrick Vincent