Abstract works at U of M are thoughtful, spontaneous

Like many of her works in the exhibit, Allison Weld's "Biology: de Kooning" comes in the form of a diptych, a form associated with sacred art.

So awash in color are the canvases of Allison Weld, you want to dive right in.

Take the art-versus-artifice work "Tiepolo's Dream," where an abstract painting bursting with hue feels more organic and "natural" than the panels of flower-motif fabric beside it.

Like many of her works in the exhibit, Allison Weld's "Biology: de Kooning" comes in the form of a diptych, a form associated with sacred art.

Or the literal invitation to sit and partake in "Ocean Scan," which offers a beachside view -- plastic mat and rock included -- of an acrylic-splashed picture that equates, with wry postmodern gesture, a trip to the seaside with a trip to the museum.

A retrospective of some two dozen works by the New York artist made between 1980 and 2009 can be seen through April 17 at the Art Museum of the University of Memphis, where tonight's opening reception is 5-7:30 p.m.

The Weld exhibit is one of six or so shows the gallery does every year, according to director Leslie Luebbers, who says that the artist was chosen not only for her mastery of form but also for how she juxtaposes an often-conflicting set of ideas and technique in her work.

Weld comes from a place where "intuition, authenticity and all those things are really important," Luebbers says. " ... She's very profoundly thoughtful about her work as well as spontaneous in the doing of it."

Weld has said as much, adding that the point is to engage the viewer in "a process of seeking and discovery."

Many of her pieces come in the form of diptychs and triptychs, and the ritualized connotation of such structures, often associated with European sacred art, is intentional: color and abstraction are Weld's religion.

The show's title, which plays on that notion, comes from one of the featured works, "My Biology: de Kooning," a double panel that includes a "ghost letter" to the famed abstract expressionist. "Art is my natural world," writes Weld in words that poke through giddy swirls of paint. "I walk through the image & breathe in the color."

A floor series, also by Weld, of found-object tchotchkes -- animal skulls, tiles, rocks and such -- leads path-like to an adjunct exhibit, the Sara Good installation "Like Seed to Soil," which runs through April 10.

Without being anything alike, the two shows create a wonderful conversation through a mutual interest in nature, found objects and the reconciliation of aesthetic opposites.

An installation artist, U of M grad Good has reassembled materials such as glass and paper into a playful garden of the mind, planting the seeds of joyful rejuvenation for all who care to step from Weld's world into hers.

--------------------

Allison Weld, "Art Is My World"; and Sara Good, "Like Seed to Soil"

"Art Is My World" is on display through April 17; "Like Seed to Soil" is on display through April 10 at the Art Museum of the University of Memphis, 142 Communication Fine Arts Building. Tonight's opening reception is 5-7:30 p.m. Call 678-2224, or go to amum.org.

--------------------

© 2010 Go Memphis. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.