One
of the hallmarks of an artist is the ability to create extraordinary
versions of ordinary things. Bale Creek Allen does this in his latest
exhibition, "Tumbleweeds and Tiretreads."
Tiretreads, useless after
a blowout, are familiar and foreboding refuse found alongside the
road. Allen collects and preserves these unwanted scraps by casting
them in bronze and sometimes dipping them in 24-karat gold.
His choice of medium transforms
everyday ephemera into modern day treasures that recall the splendors
of antiquity. Smaller treads evoke precious objects found in Egyptian
tombs, while larger treads mounted on walls, become icons, either
crosses or architectural remnants.
Tumbleweeds are treated in
similar fashion, cast in bronze, but finished with jewellike patinas.
Gilded in a seafoam palette of blues, greens and grays, the whirling
masses of delicate branches move between the worlds of strangely
shimmering barren mesas and unknown undersea reef systems.
A series of photographs with
stylistically and thematic affinities to Allen's other work rounds
out this exhibition. Images such as nostalgic signs, or a blue plastic
bag caught in barbed wire appear to be moments captured somewhere
along Texas highways. Compositionally well-arranged, printed in
both black and white and eye-popping color; the photos provide a
strong complement to the sculptural work.
Allen is known for his exquisite
craftsmanship (nearly every work is immaculate), but gone are his
clever titles and ironic inscriptions on artworks, which when left
untempered have seemed over-the-top. In their place emerges an ostensibly
more mature approach, a new formalism if you will, causing his tumbleweeds
and tire treads to truly shine.
"Tumbleweeds and Tiretreads:
New Work by Bale Creek Allen" continues 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.,
Tuesdays-Saturdays, through Oct. 22, D Berman Gallery, 1701 Guadalupe
St., free, 477-8877. A gallery talk will be held 1 p.m. Saturday.
Erin Keever
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