Goodbye, Farewell

As we wait for the Simon Shaheen’s performance, we ventured through the new exhibit at the Dayton Art Institute. The exhibit focused on American art. As a I was walking through the rooms, a couple works jumped out at me. The first piece was “Bold Endeavor” by Jon Kunn. This work was done in 1998 using laminated, cut, and polished glass. This glass sculpture was in the middle of the room, which immediately caught my eye because the light illuminated every aspect of the work. The piece was pyramidal in shape with intricate etchings in the glass on the outside and even on the inside of the work. On the inside, the etchings were colorful from reds to blues. I thought to myself this work was innovative and definitely eye catching. The next piece was “Red Circle” by Dwinell Grant. Modern and abstract entered my mind when first viewing this piece. It was done in 1939 with oil on canvas. It is difficult to rationalize this piece because you have no idea what it is or what is trying to represent. Is it just supposed to represent a red circle as the title states? Or is it something more? As much as this work confused me, I admired the vibrant colors that it incorporated. The artist did a good job transitioning from one color to the next. After that, my eyes were fixed upon the painting, “Summer Afternoon” by Ray Parker in 1959. Splotches of oil with lively colors covered the canvas. The vision itself wouldn’t remind you of a summer afternoon, but the colors would. It took me back to a memory of a summer picnic with the checkered blanket, variety of food from watermelon, fruit, potato salad, sandwiches, to the ants of course. Last, “Adieu” was the last piece that caught my eye. “Adieu” in French means goodbye, farewell. This work was by far my favorite of the bunch with its bright pinks, dark greens, and ingenious symmetry by Julian Schnabel in 1996. I liked that this piece wasn’t uniform with the rest having its own unique qualities. In addition, I liked how the artist wasn’t afraid make it messy in appearance leaving a lasting impression on me. So that’s it, ADIEU!