Winged insects connect JRB exhibits
Winged insects help to connect the works of Christie Hackler and Heather Gorham at JRB Art at The Elms, 2810 N Walker.
Their two shows are on view through Sept. 2, along with a variety of work by gallery artists at JRB, located in the Paseo Arts District.
Hackler said the enameled steel butterflies in her “IM/mortal: A Migration Experiment” installation are about “transcending boundaries.”
“My work speaks to those seeking comfort … enveloping my viewer in a cocoon of … child like wonder,” Edmond artist Hackler said.
Enameled, mostly in shiny black, white and pale bluish-green, Hackler’s steel butterflies do seem to almost migrate across the walls of the gallery space.
Attached with magnets and casting delicate shadows, Hackler’s metal butterflies and moths are not only visually appealing but seem nearly magical.
Even more serendipitous are two Hackler butterfly sculptures, attached with wildly twisting wires to fixed bases, on the mantel and a pedestal.
Gorham, who lives in Dallas, describes herself as a 25-year “multimedia artist” whose work combines animals and humans “to create a world of her own.”
Four small acrylic mixed media works by Gorham, depicting moths with ornate white patterns on their dark wings, offer us a strong link to Hackler’s subjects.
Adding to their impact are “13 (gray-silver wooden) Moths of the Moon,” by Gorham, which are displayed on two off-white wall boards.
Other Gorham panels portray running hares (through the sky), a single silhouetted cactus, dark birds, a crow casting its shadow and “Wylie Coyote, Genius.”
Both Gorham’s “Wandering Silhouettes” show and Hackler’s installation are highly recommended during the rest of their run.