Gallery Opening

On September 28^th, 2017 I attended a gallery opening for Kyle J. Bauer, who is a local media sculpture artist and a Hamiltonian Fellow. His collection seemed to focus on three dimensional elements as even his prints were based off of sculptures and wood pieces that he had previously used. I really enjoyed talking to him about his work and about some of the items were from his childhood home; this made me more emotionally invested in the piece and I was able to better understand it. I also thought that the execution of the work was incredible. For instance, the center element, “Knee High on the Fourth of July,” were a series of individual, hand crafted plastered triangles that he then painted white. The geometric shapes were put together with a lot of thought and he had a lot of abstract details, as some people believed the ‘ears of corn’ were arrow feathers or tulips. Having the piece in the center of the room and in multiple rows allowed the viewers to explore all aspects of the work. I think the viewpoint from the top of the column emphasized the row effect and contributed to the idea that they were ears of corn. He had other wood carvings that were so good, it looked like they were processed from a machine.  Unfortunately, I was not impressed by his prints. They lacked originality in both concept and execution. Furthermore, they were presented in juvenile like manner. They seemed to distract from the impressive wood creations rather than add to the overall feel of the exhibit. In a way, they lessened my appreciation of the other pieces as they showed the artist’s weak

nesses. Overall, I really enjoyed the execution and the thought of the major pieces.