August 24, 2013 Side by Side Art Openings

Last evening- two art openings at side by side galleries in RiNo, Denver.  At the Ice Cube Gallery in the Dry Ice Factory were solo shows by Regina Benson’s Future Ruins,  and Ray Tomaso’s Forgotten Latitudes.  Regina’s walk-through installation featured monumental fabric structures whose innate surface textures ( waffle weave blankets, venetian blinds) accentuated and complemented the reddish-brown surface treatments she achieves through rusting. 

There was a nice play between really solid, massive looking pieces and very thin ephemeral fabric sheets that moved gracefully in air currents created when people walked by. 

She also exhibited several objects that she used to make her rust patterns.

Ray Tomaso’s large wall-displayed cast paper works  are related to vacant spaces on maps and are composed of several layers of paper and found objects cast together and then painted in many layers.  His work shows a great sensitivity to the interplay of surface texture and pigment.

Next door at aBuzz Gallery was a group show, One Thing After Another, showing works in fiber, collage, paint and wood.  As always, I appreciated the bright colors and lively compositions of gallery owner, Carol Ann Waugh’s work.  New to me was the collage work of Janice McDonald which meticulously combined cut paper and paint in harmonious and interesting ways.