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Lunch or Dinner With purchase of a second lunch or dinner entree of equal or greater value • 1 Coupon Per Couple I I • Dine In Only • Not Valid With other Otters • Expires 12/31/2000 L Catering For All Occasions DETROIT V15 000 12 • NEws jrN Cla,ssifieds GET Results! (248) 354 5959 - Alchemic Abstractions Ann Arbor artist Karen Izenberg exhibits her paintings in a one-woman show. SUZANNE CHESSLER Special to the Jewish News IC aren Izenberg thinks chemistry when she paints — not singularly the emotional chemistry between artist and viewer but also the scientific chemistry between artist and substances used. In her Ann Arbor studio, also serving as a gallery and some- times a gallery for other artists she selects, alchemy is the cur- rent buzzword. It commands the title of her upcoming show, "Alchemic Translations," which is set for Sept. 16-Oct. 12. "The exhibit is recent work of mine covering the last year and a half," says Izenberg, strictly an abstractionist in this medium. "There are many layers of paint, and I paint and paint until I decide the painting is finished. That can take weeks and weeks. What pleases me most is that I see where the paintings are coming from and where they are now, and that progression makes a lot of sense to me." Izenberg came up with the title for this cycle of works after reading What Painting Is, which explores the alchemy of paint and the process that artists go through in their studios when they work with paint formulas. The book takes up the magic of what happens when these substances are trans- formed into paintings. "I paint without using any- thing from real life, and I don't even think of anything too specific," the artist explains. "It starts with an idea of composi- tion, something very vague in my mind that I don't put into words even for myself. "Then, it starts to become something, and this whole idea of the alchemy and the mystery and paint is fascinat- ing to me because that's kind Karen Izenberg: "It starts of how I operate intuitively. with an idea of composition, I've started using a lot more something very vague in my gels, golds, silver flakes and mind that I don't put into things like that, and it sort of words even for myself" ties into the alchemy. I refer to that with some of the titles. Transmutation 79, for example, comes from the elemental number of gold." Izenberg, 49, who grew up in Oak Park and Farmington Hills, concentrated her attention on classical piano as a child but still took occasional art classes at the Detroit Institute of Arts. She was encouraged by her parents, Sally Sanfield, an artists manager, and Phillip Sanfield, an art dealer. After earning a bachelor's degree in art history at the University of Michigan, where she took photography cours- es, she bought a loom and taught herself how to weave. Wall hangings occupied her attention. "I was pretty successful, and in 1981 became part of a big, all-media show at Cranbrook," Izenberg recalls. "I entered other shows and did that for many years, but there was some- "Distillation # 29, 'a crylic on canvas. thing missing. I went into an interior design program at Eastern Michigan University and realized that was wrong, too. "I started experimenting with fine arts classes and took quite a bit of painting. Fiber was just too dictated by struc- ture since fiber artists pretty much have to stick with what they decide to do, but I loved the spontaneity of paint and began working with acrylics because I like the additional way to be spontaneous. Oils take a long time to dry, and I like to pile paint on top of paint very quickly" After Izenberg earned her master's degree in 1996, she opened her own studio/gallery. The first show in that space featured her work and the work of two of her EMU profes- sors, one a painter and the other a photographer. A series of individual shows involving others led her to put up "Alchemic Translations." "This will be the first show where I've shown just my work," says Izenberg, who has been part of group exhibits installed at the Ann Arbor Art Center, Creative Resource Art and Imaging Gallery in Birmingham and the Jean Albano Gallery in Chicago, among others. Izenberg, a member of Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor, also has been part of an "Emerging Artists" exhibit at the Janice Charach Epstein Gallery at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. Married to plastic surgeon Paul Izenberg, the artist has encouraged all three of their children — John, 18; Lia, 16; Jake, 14 — to paint and draw. Her current pursuit involves computer art as it applies to collage projects, which takes her in more realistic directions. "One of my goals is to become more familiar with digital imaging," Izenberg says. "I'd also like to get the paintings out of town more." "Alchemic Translations" will be on display 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays, Sept. 16-Oct. 12, at the Detroit Street Gallery, 417 Detroit St., Ann Arbor. An opening reception will be held 7-10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15. (734) 994-0291.