Abel Contemporary Gallery Exhibits

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Carol Chase Bjerke

Carol Chase Bjerke: Thatch Hut Mountain Poetry Shelter 2."

media release: November 5-Dec. 31: Three New Shows

Carol Chase Bjerke and Rick Hintze – New Work,

Cup Show: Group Show

no. 5: Martha Glowacki: Rituals and Reenactments

In person Opening Reception 5-8 PM. Open to the public. Mask will be required at this event, no reservation needed. We look forward to seeing you!

Carol Chase Bjerke and Rick Hintze – New Work

Carol Chase Bjerke is a Wisconsin-based artist whose recent work is largely informed by David Hinton’s writings about the Thatch-Hut Mountain poets of ancient China. These creators chose to live out their advanced age in the sublime environment of the mountainous landscape. While there is no extant evidence of women among the Thatch-Hut Mountain Poets, Hinton is convinced that they existed, and the imagined story of one of these supposed poets inspired Chase Bjerke. Using a technique called limnography, she creates a unique image by drawing with photographic developer directly onto exposed photo paper. There is uncertainty and touch of magic about the way the fluid interacts with the emulsion on the surface of the paper.

Rick Hintze creates functional pots, coiled vessels, and sculptural pieces. His wheel thrown pots Hintze are indebted to Chinese, Korean, and Japanese folk pottery traditions. During the throwing process, he pays particular attention to the rhythms and surface textures left in the clay, aware of how they will react to the glaze, and endeavoring to evoke some of the movement of the wheel and the plasticity of the material in the final fired piece.His hand-built vessels are inspired by handwrought pottery from across the African continent but largely West Africa - Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin, Ghana. An exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2007, For Hearth and Altar, left a strong impression on Hintze, leading to a new direction in his work of large, round, coil pots created more intuitively. Hintze has recently focused on using wood ash glazes and clay slips as he is particularly  interested in the irregularities of texture, finish,  transparency, and color.

Cup Show

Perhaps the simplest, most utilitarian vessel, the cup possesses an immense history and enormous formal variation. This exhibit showcases cups in their many forms by Juan Barroso, Tom Bartel, Karl Borgeson, Jamie Bates Slone, Jeff Campana, Rob Cartelli,  Craig Clifford, Nick DeVries, Paul Donnelly, Ben Eberle, Delores Fortuna, Chris Gustin, Kenyon Hansen, Rick Hintze, Lynne Hobaica, Paul Ide, Maggie Jaszczak, Tom Jaszczak, Bruce Johnson, Ashley Kim, Joanne Kirkland, Debbie Kupinsky, Lynda Ladwig, Glynnis Lessing, Kreg McCune, Ernest Miller, Rachelle Miller, Matt Mitros, Ryan Myers, Charlie Olson, Wendy Olson, Juliane Shibata, Mark Skudlarek, Olivia Tani, Shumpei Yamaki, and Tony Young. At the opening reception of this exhibit, only one of each artists’ works will be displayed at a time; once the displayed cup has sold, the next cup from that artist will be placed on the pedestal for sale, creating a lively event.

no. 5: Rituals and Reenactments by Martha Glowacki

Martha Głowacki’s sculptural installations explore her fascination with the intersections of art and science, with particular emphasis on scientific illustration and natural history. Glowacki is known for her unique visual language which incorporates decades of research in public and private collections and observations of the natural world. This exhibition, Rituals and Reenactments, addresses Glowacki’s interest in early Wisconsin history which began when she worked in the Wisconsin Historical Museum researching artifacts before they were accessioned into the collections. At that time, she began to collect nineteenth century Wisconsin artifacts: machine parts, household objects, books, and tools. For this exhibition, Glowacki incorporates several late nineteenth/early twentieth century studio portraits into evocative installations which examine supposable scenarios for these unknown individuals.