Narratives January 31, 2008

Narratives, an exhibition of work by four artists whose visual tales are depicted in bronze or ceramic. Susannah Israel, Nina Lyons, Andrew Myers and Matthew Zupnick will exhibit pedestal to life-size works.

Visual narrative sculpture has seen resurgence in contemporary art as artists strive to tell their stories in imaginative ways. As a working artist in an urban setting, ceramicist Susannah Israel engages the viewer with a gritty yet passionate view of humanity. Her figurative sculptures are imaginative departures from personal memories, children's stories, and other associations. In "Ballet Class", a young instructor wears a rabbit's costume while rabbits perform. Inspired by a book of drawings depicting children's first ballet poses, the figures appear to skip in formation.

Nina Lyons is a Berkeley based ceramicist who has been working with clay for over twenty years. In this most recent body of work, Lyons has made a transition to mixed media by combining hand cast glass and steel pedestals to the ceramic or bronze, creating architectural constructions on which the figures sit. In "Transport", a clay boat containing a glass house, sits on a cast glass slab atop a horizontal steel surface, a memory or dream reflected in these disparate materials.

Andrew Myers blends modern material with classical figurative technique featuring a universal subject matter that is prevalent throughout his work. In "Leap of Faith" a bronze male bust would be mistaken for a Greek relic if not for the wood ladder, plank and figure, suitcase in hand, at the end of that plank, poised to take this "leap of faith."

Matthew Zupnick's work is allegorical in nature, and based on his interest in world events and human interaction. He generally works in bronze, steel and wood, telling dreamlike tales in edgy, Bosch-like works. In "Heads Will Roll", three bronze and steel hollow spheres hold small faces, which spin as the forms move across the floor.

Free.

Official Website: http://sculpturesitegallery.com