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Janis, Marquart, Trump and Baker at McLean Project for the Arts

October 6, 2009

Novie goes organic

I have noted before that the McLean Project for the Arts (“MPA”) under Curator Nancy Sausser, has a history of presenting exciting shows and this one is no exception. Let me rant a bit first, though, before getting into that. The problem with MPA is finding it. It is located in what is generally described as the leafy, upscale suburb of McLean, which is just fine, but the turn-off from the main 6-lane commuter road where the traffic is whooshing along at alarming speeds, is not well marked, so I (and others) have spent too much time backtracking and doing U-turns in bad bad places and then even when you get onto the right road, there are a whole bunch of official-looking buildings that aren’t clearly marked. So how about some big old signs a couple of blocks before the turnoff so all of us from the other side of the river can find y’all without endangering our art-loving little selves? Please??

Novie Trump reliquary

But I did get there and I saw some good stuff: Novie Trump’s new ceramic work has her characteristic evocative patina of age and use, as if it has just been discovered after having been buried underground for a couple of hundred years. The reliquaries continue to hold power and mystery and I love the new organic work.

Allegra Marquart's twisted fairy tales

Michael Janis's Hanged Man

Inside the main gallery are Allegra Marquart, Michael Janis and Tom Baker, grouped together as “storytellers”, which they are. Of the three, glass artist and printmaker Marquart, is the most overtly telling stories, putting a macabre twist on some old-fashioned nursery stories, telling them from the viewpoint of the child. I distinctly remember as a kid being pretty disturbed by some of these tales, and Marquart has captured that feeling. The pieces are densely packed with images more often disquieting than innocent.

Tom Baker's enigmatic print

I am a big fan of Michael Janis’s complex, layered glass pieces, which have steadily grown more narrative and more deep. The work here is from his “Tarot Card” series. Using the traditional themes of the cards – the sun, the moon, the hanged man, the high priestess – Janis creates tableaux of modern life.

Finally, printmaker Tom Baker’s stories are more hinted at than revealed. He combines disparate images in enigmatic small prints that pull you inside their frames and leave you wondering how the pieces connect.

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