Taking A Look At
The Local Art Scene...

Detroit artist Brian Fekete re-
works anatomical illustrations
into winding abstract images.
"This Mortal Coil," his exhibit
at the Bunting Gallery, exam-
ines the mystery of nature —
finite existence and the possi-
bilities of spiritual permanence.
The coil may be seen inter-
acting with the anatomical
form or as the form itself, some-
times assuming the shape of a
serpent, chain or tangled mass. Brian Fekete: Corpus Collosum oil on canvas.
'
Fekete mixes somber earth tones
with metallic pigments for his oil on canvas renderings.
The new series will be shown through Oct. 16 at 514 South Wash-
ington, Royal Oak. (810) 545-4820.

Take A Walk On The Art Side

W I SH N EWS

SUZANNE CHESSLER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

ning, designing and showing his work and an-
other for fabricating the pieces. Tour guests
will be invited into the first and shown slides
of the second.
Katz, who works with metal, studied at the
Center for Creative Studies, Eastern Michi-
gan University and Wayne State University.
He teaches art at Oakland Community Col-
lege and finds the two studios make for a
change of pace as he approaches different
stages of his crafting.
Stephanie Zack works with paper to cora-

Palette of Images

Sasha Kwaselow does not restrict
herself to one style of painting. Her
work can focus on a comfortable still
life, outdoor scene or abstract config-
uration, allowing for a variety of view-
er preferences.
Such is the case with her exhibit
running Oct. 7-17 at the Southfield
Parks and Recreation Building. The
same is true for her show at the De-
troit Medical Center in
Sasha
Novi, where it will con-
Kwaselow:
Watercolor tinue into 1997.
For the "Our Town"
Roses,
watercolor. exhibit and sale running
Oct. 24-27 at the Com-
munity House in Birmingham, she
entered her rendering of a French
rural dwelling completed during a painting trip to France in 1994, de-
ciding that a realistic image would have more universal appeal.
At her solo show in Southfield, Kwaselow will spotlight a different pic-
ture inspired by her trip to France — the same church in Auvers captured
in a Van Gogh painting. (810) 424-9022.

PHOTOS BY DAN IEL LIPPITT

f you've ever wondered about the day-to-
day steps that lead to an abstract paint-
ing, sculptural form, one-of- .a-kind jewelry
or other products of artistic expression,
you can satisfy that curiosity with a day-
long visit to Pontiac. About 40 artists are open-
ing their studios between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
tomorrow to give the public a chance to ex-
plore the privacy of their work spaces.
P-ART 96, a tour which also takes visitors
into six galleries and the Creative Art Cen-
ter, is the idea of Janet Christensen, P-ART
96 chairperson, who
moved to Michigan
from San Francisco,
where studio tours are
routine. "I've missed the
interaction with the
public," said Chris-
tensen, who makes
large screens out of
stained glass. "I hope a
lot of people will be corn-
ing through to get a
sense of the process as
well as the product."
Christensen, who
needs a large work area
to complete her large
projects, likes to be in a
fun atmosphere and has
decorated her studio in
bright colors.
"The artists in Pontiac
have a stronger sense of com-
munity since working on this
studio tour," said Marilyn
Schechter, event co-chair-
person, who creates wall
sculptures with found objects
as well as charcoal drawings.
"We've formed the Pontiac
Artists Association and hope
to meet after this event and
plan others."
Visitors to Schechter's stu-
dio will experience a quiet,
neat setting that includes
collections of shells and
stones that have personal
meaning and are used in her
sculpture. One area has been
planned for work and an-
other as a gallery for her fin-
ished pieces, often abstract
and organic, showing the in-
fluence of nature in forms and configurations.
"My studio is easy to walk through because
the items are sparse," said Schechter, who
has taught art at Macomb County Commu-
nity College. "Guests can take in each piece
separately."
Ray Katz, an art furniture maker, has two
separate studios in Pontiac — one for plan-

Above: Mary DuPrie creates
jewelry cabinets from
scratch.

Left: Marilyn Schechter
uses her personal
collection of shells and
stones in her sculpture.

municate about issues.
In her Pontiac studio,
she actually makes the
paper, which she-takes
home to assemble.
"With what I have up, I
hope people will see I'm
trying to make a state-
ment about things that
go on in life," Zack said.
"I've lost friends to
breast cancer, and I've
made a quilt out ofpa-
per and metal fasteners
to capture the suffering
of women who have the disease. It shows tor-
sos and body parts, and it folds up like a book."
Zack likes the solitude of her studio, where
she can think through projects without in-
terruption. She also likes the six floor-to-ceil-
ing windows, which offer great light.

LOCAL ART SCENE page 104

Modern

Julius Schmidt's
sculpture is
reminiscent of
archaeological
forms, which he
calls archetypes.
They resemble ru-
ined temples that
might be uncovered
in some remote trop-
ical rain forest or
pyramid forms dis-
covered on a wind-
_swept desert.
The former head
-- of the Cranbrook ---

I

rchaeology

pture Department
and builder of the
school's foundry facil-
ity, Schmidt brings his
work to the Robert Kidd
Gallery, 107 Townsend,
Birmingham, through Nov.
2. Each sculpture is unique
and cast in bronze or iron by
the artist, who
Julius
developed a com-
Schmidt: plex sand-casting
Untitled,
process using his
cast iron. own hand-built
equipment.
(810) 642-3909.

Suzanne Chessler is a freelance writer who compiles and writes our

"Hanging Around" Fine Arts pages. If you have information about art
happeningS you wish to have considered for our fine-arts section,
including show openings and ongoing exhibits, please send your