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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