arts & entertainment

Nanci LaBret Einstein
of Bloomfield Hills
shows work in two
local galleries.

I

Suzanne Chessler

Contributing Writer

T

wo very different expressions of
Nanci LaBret Einstein's artistry
can be seen in exhibits running
almost simultaneously.
While a sculpture formed from repur-
posed objects is being shown through July
13 at the Detroit Artists Market, a set of
three nesting dolls is on view through July
25 at the Janice Charach Gallery in West
Bloomfield.
"I'm showing a piece titled Synergy in
Detroit:' Einstein explains about her sculp-
ture that reaches more than 5 feet tall.
"It is part of a group exhibit called 'Edge;
which indicates that it's art on the edge.
"Although the sculpture is made of
repurposed items, I hope viewers see the
work as a whole entity, looking at the form
and looking at the possibilities.
"It's almost as if there are different plac-
es and small islands of discovery within
the piece. There is texture and interplay of
various shapes:"
Einstein, who incorporated old toy parts
and wire spools within her piece, was
invited to be among a group of local art-
ists creating matryoshka dolls to go along
with "Let My People Go: The Soviet Jewry
Movement 1967-1989:' a tour of posters,
photos and film clips in West Bloomfield.
"The three dolls include a baby, child
and woman, and they really are pretty
simplistic:' Einstein says. "The woman doll
is more colorful to represent more experi-
ences:'
Einstein, who works out of a home
studio in Bloomfield Hills, became inter-
ested in art while a student at Groves
High School. Her focus was clay and con-

tinued with classes at Eastern Michigan
University. She transferred to the College
for Creative Studies, where she worked on
painting and ceramics.
"After graduation, reality came into
play:' Einstein says. "I worked with graph-
ics and did designs for different product
lines.
"I married photographer Allen Einstein
(the longtime official photographer of the
Detroit Pistons) and became a mom to two
daughters, now employed in cities outside
of Michigan. I did a lot of charity work
while raising my kids, and art sort of fell
by the wayside.
"It's only recently that I've been able to
devote myself back to my art and try to
catch up to where I would have been if I
kept up with it:'
Recent exhibitions have placed her
work at the Buckham Gallery in Flint, the
Scarab Club in Detroit, Anton Art Center
in Mount Clemens and the Hudson Gallery
in Sylvania, Ohio.
Einstein, who also takes on photo proj-
ects with her husband, started working
with found objects after a daughter's bat
mitzvah, when she was looking for special
flower containers but didn't like anything
she saw.
"I don't look at things as they were she
explains. "I look at the shape and form and
take it from there. It becomes of little con-
sequence what its past life was.
"It is strange how people just give me
bags of their stuff — corks, clips, old com-
puter parts, toys — and these become part
of what I use to make sculpture.
"Being involved in the DAM show is
interesting because the pieces were chosen
as going outside the mainstream:' says
Einstein.

"Edge" includes paintings, sculpture,
multimedia and interactive work that
reconfigures established thinking and
current perceptions of art as developed
by 12 people going in their individual
directions.
Away from artistry, Einstein is a vol-
unteer with Planned Parenthood and
Orchards Children's Services. She has
been active with Temple Israel and
Temple Beth El.
Involved with new projects, she also
has served as a juror for shows. The expe-
rience allows her to look at new work and
learn by introducing it to others.
"It's important for art to get into public
places and be viewed," she says. "I think
that art as a whole is an evolutionary pro-
cess, and one should be pushed and prod-
ded outside of standard directions.
"As an artist, I want my work to con-
tinue to evolve. That's part of what it's all
about:'

❑

"Edge" runs through July 13 at
the Detroit Artists Market, 4719
Woodward, in Detroit. Hours
are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-
Saturdays. (313) 832-8540;
detroitartistsmarket.org .
"Let My People Go: The Soviet
Jewry Movement 1967-1989"
runs through July 25 at the
Janice Charach Gallery in the
Jewish Community Center in West
Bloomfield. Hours are 10 a.m.-5
p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-
7 p.m. Thursdays and noon-4 p.m.
Sundays. (248) 432-5448. jccdet.
org .

Nancy LaBret Einstein: Synergy, on
display at Detroit Artists Market.

JN

June 20 • 2013

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