#james gallery

Salem's Lot | Tobe Hooper | 1979

Salem's Lot (1979)

Director - Tobe Hooper, Cinematography - Jules Brenner

While I must admit not all of Elizabeth Whyte Schulze's work spoke to me in the same way, what did, was very moving. Her use of color is extraordinary. Many artists or folks in general are scared of it but a special few can juxtapose resplendent, exotic hues in a fluid manner.

Her medium of choice - a mix of raffia and pine needles - add an extra layer of wonder. How does she weave them so carefully and with such a clean finish? Elizabeth’s raw materials and the subjects upon her smooth artworks evoke the earthenware of the Native Americans. The figures that adorn her vessels, an acknowledgement to primitive imagery, are not basic but instinctive. And although different in execution, their evolution from mother earth creates a direct correlation.

Elizabeth’s art pleasantly reminds me of my own family travels throughout the southwest. It pinches at my heartstrings and draws me in because of this relation. And although I enjoyed our travels then, I could not fully grasp the greatness of these adventures. Beyond my own experiences, her art evokes a state of relatable being which captures your attention.

Elizabeth is a lovely woman, humble, engaged, and interested. Her curious nature (she had lots of plans to explore Pittsburgh!) intrigued me about her life and studio space in Massachusetts. Is it bursting with color and adventure? Or are her creations born from a simple space?

Fiber artists seem to suddenly be multiplying in quantity - or perhaps they are finally being recognized alongside their fellow comrades for what they are - artists. So go explore this burgeoning sector of art and the enchanting world of Elizabeth Whyte Schulze.

The exhibition, Bound, is open at James Gallery until Saturday, July 11th.

What goes West must always return East because New York is still the center of the American art market. California has gone on a cross-country road trip to New York City with the exhibition Left Coast: California Political Art. On view through May 30 at the City University of New York (CUNY) Grad Center’s James Gallery, a space across from the Empire State Building on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, the show speaks to a range of contemporary political realities in the Golden State.