http://desleegallery.com/2012/10/25/images-from-nowhere-backwards-randy-bolton-michael-krueger-and-tom-reed/exhibition-at-des-lee-gallery/
This group show featuring three printmakers — Cranbrook artist-in-residence
Randy Bolton,
University of Kansas professor
Michael Krueger, and
Washington University instructor and master printer
Tom Reed
— is a nature hike on acid. Forests are rendered in fuchsia, chartreuse
and neon yellow; tree trunks crack open to reveal minute inner colonies
of cabin-dwelling bears; large banners strapped onto branches read:
"I've got you now you son of a bitch." The work of each artist couldn't
be more distinct yet electrically complementary in this dense, bold,
giddily weird display. Fastened with rawhide thongs to peculiar
handcrafted poles, Bolton's screen-printed fabric banners partition the
cavernous gallery into a maze, asking you to wander through its barrage
of imagery and get a little lost. One banner depicts a rabbit calling a
turtle's attention to signs lettered with virtues like "Beauty" and
"Truth"; another shows the rabbit flat on his face at the end of a
junk-strewn trail. Krueger's work (mostly lithographs) resembles
exquisitely rendered colored-pencil drawings and depicts lush woods and
streams, oversize moons and huge red planets. His palette is decidedly
psychedelic, the subject matter lurching from tripped-out paradises to
apocalyptic aftermaths and back. To look closely at his irradiated
leaves is to appreciate their fine detail, but at the risk of blinding
dizziness. Reed begs that you peer into his Russian-nesting-doll logic,
where, say, a faux parchment scroll tears to reveal a dark, watery shore
from which arises a half-constructed fort. Nostalgia informs all the
works, youth-vernacular details such as chalkboards; word-find puzzles;
snowmen; and roiling, crayon-colored planets. It all seems to suggest an
engrossing storybook narrative, a shaggy-dog moral tale about the
direct line from childhood playthings to existential morass. In other
words: getting nowhere backwards — and savoring every step. Through
November 17 at the Des Lee Gallery, 1627 Washington Avenue (University
Lofts Building); 314-621-8735 or
www.desleegallery.com. Hours: 1-6 p.m. Wed., Fri.-Sat. and by appointment. Jessica Baran