A Pleasant Surprise Every so often it’s possible to stumble upon remarkable art when you least expect it. In one case, a visit with Jerry Schefcik at the Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery circuitously led to a visit to downtown’s the Fallout Gallery to see a show of drawings by recent UNLV grad Peter Mengert. He was showing alongside an artist named Lance Smith, who was just preparing to enter the BFA program. Mengert’s narrative work demonstrated a level of coherence and deftness in its own right, but Smith’s dark, atmospheric drawings and paintings turned out to be positively arresting. Working in grayscale with charcoal, gesso and acrylic, Smith turns traditional gesture drawing—that sketchbook staple of beginning life-drawing courses—into the basis of a finished work as notable for its composition as for its highly charged content. It’s possible to detect traces of Willem de Kooning and Francis Bacon in his voluptuous nudes, which are depicted in suggestive postures and violent scenarios. Smith’s paintings lose something of the
raw, visceral energy of his drawings, yet, with their bold use of chiaroscuro and dramatic, almost runaway perspective, they maintain their own appeal. And Smith, at age 20, is just getting started.
22 A Double Comeback Former Guggenheim Hermitage Managing Director Elizabeth Herridge is back in action—times two. First, she’s putting together a retrospective of Rita Deanin Abbey’s work. The internationally known artist has lived in Las Vegas since 1965 and was featured in the summer issue of Desert Companion. Herridge is searching for the proper local venue and approaching others outside Nevada to determine their interest in participating. “Rita is an underappreciated resource and a treasure,” Herridge says. “I had the idea last spring and, fortunately, Rita has agreed.” The project is a year out. Meantime, in late July, Herridge was appointed managing director of the Springs Preserve. If you’re wondering what that has to do with art, she understands why. The
The Hough-Morey exhibit at the Rotunda Gallery.
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180-acre facility has two nice but littleknown spaces: the Big Springs Gallery in the ORIGEN building, which showcases nature photography, and the Patio Gallery in the Desert Living Center, which hosts traveling environmental art exhibits. “I read every publication in town and didn’t know this,” Herridge says. She hopes to create public awareness that the preserve is “more than a place about plants and animals,” and this re-branding will include more and betterquality visual and performing arts events. She’s even contemplating a sculpture garden amid all those plants. “We want to make this an oasis for the city,” she says, “and to do that, we need to give people new reasons all the time to come here.” The Springs Preserve is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A visit to the galleries requires regular park admission: $9.95 for residents; $8.95 for students and seniors; $4.95 for children 5-17; under 5 free. springspreserve.org.
23 Catherine Borg Rises to a Challenge Despite some considerable disadvantages, one civic art program has enjoyed ascendancy under the direction of artist and part-time Clark County cultural specialist Catherine Borg. The towering dimensions and unsteady stream of natural light make the Clark County Government Center’s Rotunda Gallery a tough venue to fill. With its curved sandstone walls cut by massive windows and large corridors, the space shows three-dimensional pieces best, and Borg, who has a master’s in visual art, chooses them wisely. One show last fall successfully paired freestanding, human-scale sculptures by UNLV MFA alumni Adam Morey and James Hough. Morey’s work consisted of translucent acrylic boxes inset with intricate Mylar designs that changed their appearance as the sun moved across the sky. Hough’s asymmetrical, geometric sculptures adorned with colorful graphics begged the viewer to walk around them, an activity the Rotunda’s spacious layout accommodated. Borg’s proven curatorial sensibility and good taste mean we should all make it a point to visit that space more often. This fall’s Inscribed/Messages, an exhibition inspired by books and language that will coincide with the Vegas Valley Book Festival, should provide an excellent reason to do so. Open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, Clark County Government Center, 500 S. Grand Central Pkwy., 455- 8239, accessclarkcounty.com.
Rotunda Gallery: Catherine Borg; Paymon’s Bistro: Ryan Reason
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