Tossed and Found

The art of recycling inspires Da Vinci's annual members' exhibition.

by Natalie Hope McDonald

Divine Lorraine Awakened, by Alden Cole (detail) (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Garbage is in the eye of the beholder, at least for the members of the Da Vinci Art Alliance. In the spirit of mixed media, the 77-year-old nonprofit's newest exhibition, "Found Objects/New Contexts," asks its 135 member artists to create new works of fine art from reclaimed, salvaged materials.

"The board noticed that numerous artists in our organization were already using found objects in their artworks," says David Foss, director of the Da Vinci Alliance. "This could include recycled materials, assemblages, ready-made objects or anything from everyday life." The theme also inspired painters and illustrators to create new, more three-dimensional works that would incorporate found objects. "The artist's imagination can use any material in the creation of artwork beyond the traditional ones I've seen," Foss says.

Ted Warchal, a sculptor and member of Da Vinci's board of directors, is among those in the annual exhibition who have long worked with reclaimed materials — he's been sculpting for 30 years, before, he says, recycling became a more popular concept. "This is my forte," admits Warchal, who creates his highly symbolic mixed-media sculptures in his South Jersey studio.

One Warchal work featured in the exhibition, Book of Jonah, uses weathered icebox doors, wood and other found objects to create a large, wizened tome. "I think of it as pelagic," says Warchal, "or having deep oceans of information." Warchal's also showing High Sierra, which he describes as "an atmospheric piece consisting of weathered wood and fur, which evokes feelings I experienced out in the West in the Sierras."

Warchal says his fellow artists' response to this year's theme was enthusiastic. "There seems to be a real excitement in using found objects," he says. "I personally enjoy using objects that have a human touch and have been used. I like to rescue discarded objects and create something new."

The show's theme reflects not only a trend among artists, but also an environmental consciousness, even if Foss says the relationship is not intentional. "The theme has no direct ecological slant," he says. "But I am sure some artists in the exhibition will take that perspective."

Foss says "Found Objects/New Contexts" is more accurately about mixed-media composition, found objects and assemblage using everyday items. "The concept of the show is not really new," he says. "It's been going on for many years."

Warchal says that what is different about the show is the range of expression that can be achieved by stretching the limits of any one object and by making it into something new. "I think it helps to build on other people's experiences that are ingrained in the objects," he says. "You can include its humanity. It's something from the real world."

(n_mcdonald@citypaper.net)

Opening reception Sat., July 12, 6-9 p.m.; show runs through July 30; Da Vinci Art Alliance, 704 Catharine St., 215-829-0466, davinciartalliance.org.