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I
he stark cycle of life and Wayne State's campus. Although
death is all too clear to she moved to New York City 20
Brenda Goodman.
years ago, her artistic presence
Irony is a source of every has been a regular feature in De-
artist's inspiration. And irony, for troit.
Ms. Goodman, cuts a path of pain
Throughout the 1980s, her
and joy.
work appeared at the Feigenson
The event that changed Ms. Gallery. Most recently, the Hill
Goodman's life and forever influ- Gallery and David Klein Gallery
enced her art occurred on her have shown her creations.
birthday in 1972 when her moth-
The Revolution exhibit, how-
er died. Since then, Ms. Goodman, ever, will focus on the cycle of Ms.
who first gained prominence dur- Goodman's work based on the loss
ing the "Kick Out the Jams" ex- of her mother.
hibit at the Detroit Institute of
The first cycle dates back to a
Arts in the early 1980s, has
turned inward to find an-
swers — and solace.
Her soulful responses
have been transformed
through oil paintings on can-
vas and wood panels on ex-
hibit at Revolution Gallery
in Ferndale, beginning Sat-
urday, Sept. 9. The show is
appropriately titled "A Song
for My Mother."
Raised in Detroit and ed-
ucated at the Society of Arts
and Crafts (renamed Cen-
ter for Creative Studies), Ms.
Goodman returns from her
current residence in New
York, where she maintains
a studio in the city as well
as in the upstate country-
side. The broad strokes of
her latest work reflect the
lush, impressionistic haze of
the rural landscape.
But there's nothing pas-
sive or idyllic about Ms.
Goodman's work. It is, like
most of Revolution's other
exhibits, challenging.
"She brings great emotion
and energy through the use
of color," said Paul Kotula,
director of Revolution.
Mr. Kotula, a ceramicist
who founded the gallery
three years ago, noted that
Ms. Goodman's work is
"gaining momentum" in the
a oo man s
three-year period fol-
New York art world.
"Untitled,"
"A Song for My Mother" 1995: Coming to lowing the death, and
terms with a
is a passionate display of
the second cycle pre-
terrible loss.
sents Ms. Goodman's
paintings that are distinct,
most recent paintings
yet abstract. Personal, yet
hauntingly universal. When her created earlier this year. Although
mother died, the artist could hard- she had been productive during
ly have realized that she would the 20-year interval, her work
take the next two decades to come seems reinvigorated by her return
to grips with her loss.
to the motif that haunted her two
Sandra Schemske, assistant di- decades ago, Ms. Schemske said.
rector at Revolution, believes the
In many ways, Revolution, lo-
exhibit will draw quite a crowd be- cated just north of Nine Mile Road
cause of Ms. Goodman's deep roots on Woodward, also is going
in this area.
through a cycle. By using an in-
During the early 1970s, Ms. timate upstairs space, the gener-
Goodman became one of the Cass ous gallery on the main floor and
Corridor artists, who lived and cre- the downstairs for installation art,
ated art in the blocks just off of Revolution offers hope for those
holding onto the "art for art's sake"
credo.
The "true revolution" at the
gallery is to demystify art and
artists while holding up all disci-
plines on the same plane, Ms.
Schemske said.
Considering the drastic cuts in
funding for the arts, and the pop-
ular connotation that art galleries
can be "elitist," Revolution's mis-
sion isn't as easy as it sounds. It's
led Revolution to expand its ap-
peal to a broader audience.
Two months ago, the gallery
went on the Internet with a home
page located on the World Wide
Web. The online access provides
an interactive presentation of Rev-
olution's latest exhibit to Internet
surfers and art lovers, said Ms.
Schemske.
The DIA, Cranbrook and sev-
eral other galleries also maintain
sites on the Internet. El
The "A Song for My Mother"
exhibit will be featured through
Oct. 14. A reception for Ms.
Goodman will be held on Friday,
Sept. 8, at Revolution Gallery,
23257 Woodward Ave. Call the
gallery, (810) 541-3444, for in-
formation.
'