July 29-August 4, 2004

artpicks

Fresh Cuts

by Lori Hill

art Fresco, one of painting's oldest techniques, is also one of the most enduring — and not just for the way it sinks into porous surfaces and stands the tests of time and elements. Over time, contemporary artists have taken cues from Michelangelo's ceilings and Rivera's murals, finding ways to update the form and make it relevant. On a smaller scale, Washington state artist Mark Bennion continues the tradition with a complex process of painting with oil onto plaster, which is then layered on paper and finally layered on canvas. After 20 years, Bennion has reached a point where his works look as if they date from the times of Giotto or even earlier, their primitive markings like cave drawings on muted but warm gold and red grounds.

Rick Schneider and Nikki Vahle's collaborations are similarly rooted in a particular time and place. This time, though, it's America circa 1959 — when bowling and beer were a typical Friday night for millions. Now married, these 30-something artists each come from working-class backgrounds and draw inspiration from the iconography therein. They start with cameo glass that's then sandblasted and etched upon with decorative and narrative elements. Sno-cones lined up on a steel frame, an aluminum pillbox filled with little ceramic capsules, beer bottles complete with labels and caps with jagged pie-crust edges, bowling pins adorned with nattily dressed figures poised for a perfect strike — all are meticulously crafted for an impressive show of glasswork.

"Frescoes" and "Observations and Recollections," through Aug. 31, Wexler Gallery, 201 N. Third St., 215-923-7030.