Review: Omaha First Friday and the year’s first real precipitation
Omaha First Friday‘s February presentation of local gallery openings was very enlightening and while it is unfair to do so, I’m choosing to focus in on two of the seven events planned and the others not on the list. Anderson O’Brien and Artist’s Cooperative Gallery would be the most noteworthy if I could rule out (for the purposes of a review), the Hardware Gallery and openings elsewhere. The weather and timeframe permitted us from being too adventurous therefore we stuck to the domain of the Old Market. Featured artists Kevin Tolman and Tom Sitzman were present at Anderson O’Brien and the Artists’ Cooperative Gallery, respectively, speaking to friends, family and admirers in hushed whispers.
Kevin Tolman’s paintings are large scale and abstract with a color palette of marigold, gray, aqua and red. Calming and pleasing, the works remind me of something that would have been in the illustrious Philip Schrager Collection yet remaining true to the aesthetic Anderson O’Brien consistently displays. I saw hints of Paul Klee, Carroll Dunham, Cy Twombly and Jackson Pollock as well as local hero Steve Joy. Utilizing drip technique as well as wash with acrylic and mixed media, which sort of suggests to me the effect of charcoal drawing. It is action painting with a sense of composition due to layering. Nothing seems to unify the color palette, although the artist states that the visual cues from time spent in Portugal and its coastline informed his work. Part of the fun of abstraction is finding new associations and I observed clouds and rain, stippled balloons and cones, leopard spots, jellyfish and an ellipse shape.
Tom Sitzman’s kinetic mobiles and stable mobiles are a direct reference to Alexander Calder. An ambitious and successful reference, too. Rather than on the ceiling, the works were on the floor or on pedestals moving gracefully around the Artist’s Cooperative Gallery. Calder was a master of physics and his works are recognized worldwide, not to mention that Albert Einstein once observed his work “Universe” for 40 minutes (true story), yet what isn’t understood about his work is how difficult they are to materialize. Referencing nature and physics while being held aloft by air currents, Sitzman’s work is also sturdy enough to be displayed as public art. One is reminded of a whirlibird or carousel with his largest work. Shiny metal discs appear as light as paper casting shadows on the wall and ceilings, I’d really like to see them in more empty environs. The challenge of kinetic sculpture is keeping the illusion of staying aloft with or without the help of motorization and securing the joints so that the cantilever is precise and Tom Sitzman was entirely triumphant at achieving the lightness and strength of the Calder masterpieces in his exhibit.
