Sometimes a gallery just isn't big enough.
Mac Murphy of Little Rock's M2 Gallery found a solution -- spin off a second show by one of the gallery's top artists, Lisa Krannichfeld, to North Little Rock's William F. Laman Library.
That leaves the gallery ample space for its "10th Anniversary Exhibit," a showcase for its roster of artists, including co-owner Murphy.
Works by Russellville's Neal Harrington, particularly the new piece Hickarus and 2013's excellent Delta Oracle, enliven the exhibit with his wild, charged Southern Gothic/folkloric woodcuts that sometimes recall Rockwell Kent and Charles Banks Wilson. Harrington's skill at drawing is astounding for its detail and conceptual execution.
Several of Catherine Nugent's intriguing pastels, especially More Secrets, intermingle words and visuals. Several of her new pieces seem to explore memory and, with a little reflection, their depth is revealed.
Other outstanding works include Robin Tucker's photorealistic and surreal The Space Between Us; Milan Todic's striking Landscape; Bryan Frazier's cool silkscreens of English actress and singer Jane Birkin, Moi Non Plus; Ike Garlington's playful The Return of Blue Suit Sam, a charming crayon-and-colored-pencil work; and Richard Warehime's hilarious depiction of bees and food, Exhausted, Bernie must be rescued from a bowl of Vietnamese food.
The biggest surprise is a stunning photograph by Ashley Murphy. Her Atelier 59 Rivoli, an artist's studio in Paris, shows her to be a photographer with a great eye for a scene and how to capture it. Would have loved to have seen more of her work.
• Lisa Krannichfeld's "Undomesticated Interiors" represents an expansion of the artist's exploration of female portraiture. It hangs through Saturday at Laman Library.
Describing herself as a rebel, the artist's statement says she is "creating female portraits that emulate strength, power and aggression; characteristics I feel do and should pertain to women as much as men."
She previously focused on face-and-shoulder portraits; the women's expressions were hard to read.
Krannichfeld's new portraits include the women's living spaces. Faces and psyches are no longer ambiguous. Women are sitting in their well-appointed living rooms with framed images of snarling leopards, bears and dogs. Even the pets are snarling. In the midst of all this confrontation, the viewer is put on alert, on the defensive.
While the women aren't snarling, they are not necessarily welcoming. Expressions are powerfully defined: forceful, defiant, nothing held back. There may be an empty chair in the room, but that doesn't mean you're welcome to sit.
The lush, rich interiors and the women's clothing reflect the artist's ongoing use of traditional Chinese art elements and patterns in a very contemporary presentation. She works with Chinese ink, acrylic paint, paper collage, cyanotype and resin.
Krannichfeld, a past Delta Award winner at the Arkansas Arts Center's Delta Exhibition, executes her vision and canvases with great skill and imagination.
"Undomesticated Interiors," through Saturday, William F. Laman Library, Exhibition Hall, 2801 Orange St., North Little Rock. Hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Info: lamanlibrary.org, (501) 758-1720.
"10th Anniversary Exhibit," through April 3, M2 Gallery, 11525 Cantrell Road, Suite 918, Little Rock. Hours: Noon-5 p.m. Monday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. (501) 225-6257
Style on 03/19/2017