Yesterday I visited a surprisingly spacious new gallery at 47 Bergen Street in Brooklyn, NY. Located in an old, freshly renovated warehouse building, Muriel Guépin Gallery is a treat. The openness of the space, and the friendliness of the staff, encouraged me to spend quite a lot of time there.
I examined the work of Joan Lurie, shown above, for quite some time. Ms. Lurie works with porcelain and paper clay. The forms start out on the wheel, to be built upon with layers of paper clay and then cut into to create windows into the interior. Porcelain is notorious for not doing what one wants it to do, but Ms. Lurie has developed a technique that thoroughly controls this finicky material. Her works are a study of architectural and organic spaces. The surface is a soft, skin-like matte white glaze with small crazing. I was quite taken in.
I was mesmerized by the work of Paula Overbay, whose layers of color and dots took me on a celestial journey.
The work of Arpie Gennetian Najaran, a fellow RISD Alum, is what originally brought me to the gallery. Her collages of original drawings, string and found printed matter are full of light, dance, and joy. Thank you, Arpie, for leading me to a wonderful exhibition.
