Last Friday evening at 7 p.m., a sizable crowd attended the opening of the Scarfone-Hartley Gallery’s art exhibit showcasing University of Tampa faculty.
Instead of showing work from students or visiting artists, the gallery focused completely on faculty members and their creativity and welcomed all comers.
As I wandered through the gallery, I found many interesting works. One of the pieces I and many people found interesting was constructed by faculty member Kendra Frorup, and entitled Rose Kitchen.
Francesca Erni, a senior, said, “The piece looks impossible.” It looked as if it were about to tumble over. It is made of stacked china plates skillfully fused together with a white column hanging over it from the ceiling.
The plates are decorated with roses, or rose patterns, and porcelain finial roses, decorative ornaments typically found on the end of curtain rods, adhered to the columns.
One of the most interesting parts about this work is the fact that it has a music box inside of it. The viewer can crank the key and a ballerina will spin around on a rotating arm that moves clockwise around the top plate to the sound of a lullaby.
Frorup told me that she had collected all of these items over the years. “My mom has lots of figurines. They reminded me of her. I have all the ideas in my head, but the engineering is the hard part,” she said.
Another piece that was a favorite was the opus Chris Valle created titled Madonna of Humility.
“I used the symbolic power of the altar painting,” said Valle. He explained that throughout his travels in Europe, he found that altar paintings were popular not only in churches, but also in homes.
“They have a symbolic power, whether you believe or not,” he said. There is more to this piece than the title reveals.
“If you look at it one way, you see Madonna and Britney Spears kissing,” said Valle, “If you turn your head slightly, you see the Madonna holding baby Jesus, but if you turn slightly again, you’ll see [pop-star] Madonna’s head resting on the Madonna’s breast.” Valle is well known for using pop culture in his works, as seen in other works shown in the gallery, like Saint Push-Up.
“It seems [like] the Madonna is giving her blessing towards the offensive,” Dr. Gary Luter said of the piece featuring the infamous kiss shared between (pop-star) Madonna and Britney. Valle said that this was just one of a series of 80 paintings. The others can be viewed at his website, http://www.chrisvalleart.com.
Another piece that is particularly interesting is Santiago Echeverry’s piece titled Immigration Process. Dorothy Cowden, the gallery director, said that Echeverry’s works are notorious for featuring immigration as subject matter.
This feature is a diptych (two related panels). One portrays the American flag and the other, an ethnic man’s stubble-covered chin and lip area wearing lipstick.
Sister Ann Regan, an attendee to the event, told me her opinion about the piece.
“Immigration Process speaks to me,” she said. “It has such a powerful statement made in such a muted way. The combination of the flag, the lipstick and the ethnic man’s face … it is just wonderful.”
Other pieces that Echeverry has on display are series of digital prints titled Life/ Vida/ Vie and a movie that plays in the gallery lobby titled 40. They seemed to express his views on immigration and on how people adjust to a completely different culture.
My favorite piece in the gallery was done by Ina Kaur. It is titled Unsaid. “It was actually inspired by the idea that we have things to communicate, but [that] they are always left unsaid,” Kaur said. “Because we, as people, we always feel how it is going to be perceived, is it right or wrong, if it’s politically correct or not.” The piece is a site-specified mixed media installation and contains relief prints, handmade glass-blown containers, cotton thread, a wall painting and prints.
The blown-glass containers, filled with miniature transcripts, sit upon a shelf and are surrounded by messages painted on the wall in neutral and muted colors. All of the messages on the wall are written in English and are ideas, thoughts, desires, etc. that were submitted by students and other faculty members that have been left unsaid due to awareness of political correctness, complications of relationships, and other reasons.
All of the painting, printing and glass-work were done by herself. Kaur told me this multilayer project represents “How people try to put you in a box, put you in a jar, in a vessel … it has a lot of symbolic meaning for me, at least.”
There are many other interesting pieces in the gallery. Other artists and faculty include Catherine Chastain-Elliot, Greg Perkins, Brooke Scherer, Lew Harris, Cory George, Jack King and Doug Sutherland.
Dozens of different media were used in addition to the items mentioned here. The show will be in the gallery until Nov. 23, at which time the gallery will be prepared for the next show.
The gallery is open between the hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. I wouldn’t miss this opportunity to see the faculty display their talents.
Laurel Sanchez can be reached at laurel.sanchez1@gmail.com.