In 1953, Robert Rauschenberg erased an abstract expressionist drawing by fellow artist Willem de Kooning, gave it the title "Erased de Kooning" and exhibited it as his own.
That's exactly what local artist Kathleen Zimbicki had in mind when she took brush and paint to two works by Greensburg artist Bud Gibbons. Zimbicki had purchased the paintings several years ago at an Associated Artists of Pittsburgh auction, both of which were landscapes Gibbons painted while looking through a leaded-, beveled-glass window.
Zimbicki thought they could use some sprucing up, so she decided to add a few of her signature "critters" - funny-looking anthropomorphic animals - looking back at the viewer through the windows.
As brazen as Rauschenberg's move was, at least he had de Kooning's consent prior to doing so. But as for Zimbicki, well, she didn't.
"I thought, 'well, that takes chutzpah,'" Zimbicki says of her thinking prior to adding her critters to the paintings, "but I knew Bud had a sense of humor, and I thought he's not gonna kill me and he won't be mad."
Now one of the altered Gibbons paintings is on view in the exhibition "Pittsburgh Artists Group Show" at Studio K Gallery in Lawrenceville. And that's all right with Gibbons, whose work is also included in the show.
"My reaction was, 'Cool, that's really interesting,'" Gibbons says. "Anything that involves painting, anything that talks about it again, is fine with me."
In a way, that story illustrates the camaraderie among those in the Pittsburgh-area art scene, which is made up of a large group of artists who are known to be enthusiastic about art and encouraging of each other.
Both Zimbicki and Gibbons are longtime members of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, the area's oldest and largest art organization that each year holds an annual exhibition. But outside of that exhibition, large numbers of works by its members rarely hang together at once.
However, that's not the case with this exhibition, because alongside Zimbicki's "Altered Bud Gibbons," and Gibbons' vibrant landscape "Woods Road 2003" are works by 29 other members of the organization.
"We invited artists from Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Center for the Arts guilds," says Ken Beer, who along with his wife, Terri Perpich, organized the exhibition. Although both are members of the Associated Artists, they created this exhibition independent of that organization, asking each artist to submit a piece of their own choosing without any adherence to a theme.
"We also thought it would be a great opportunity for Karen Chapin, owner of Studio K, to meet 31 Pittsburgh artists and see their work," Beer says.
As it turns out, it's also a good opportunity for the public as well to get an idea of the kind of artwork being made in the Pittsburgh area at the moment.
As one might expect, it's an eclectic mix. There are many confident works by a number of recognizable names such as Aileen Zollweg, Adrienne Heinrich and Elaine Morris. Each has highly identifiable styles that regular gallery goers will recognize.
But among them, several show significant improvements in terms of their individual directions. Lila Hirsch Brody has undoubtedly perfected her unique resin wall sculptures with the piece "Blooming Bright," which is a large colorful flower that glistens from the resin that coats it and from the artist's undeniable enthusiasm that comes from having stayed the course with a most unusual technique.
Then there are those artists newer to the local art scene who are showing some confident works of their own, such as John Dorinsky, who interprets his dreams in an evocative and powerful little drawing titled "Roadblock," and Mark Lese who, being best known for creating well-composed abstractions, surprises with an exceptional full-length portrait of a young woman drinking wine titled, "Individuation."
Several works represent local interests at large. For example, there has, for a number of years in the region, been a great deal of interest in making mixed-media works. That is best represented in the work of Patty Gallagher, who muses about marriage in her illuminated sculpture "Yes (light up!)," which has the word "yes" emblazoned across a heart-shaped pillow made of silk flowers.
And yet representing even more diverse media is Barbara Broff Goldman's piece, "With a song in my heart," which is an artist-made book that hangs in the window. Comprised of 2,000 sheets of black-and-white paper sewn to look like piano keys, it is topped with white, resin-soaked gloves with fingers positioned as if playing a piece.
Although the visual art scene in Pittsburgh continues to grow, and along with it the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, which just accepted 30 new members at a screening on Sunday, this show offers a solid sampling of works by a large number of Pittsburgh-area artists and is well worth seeking out for that reason.
Additional Information:
Show Info
'Pittsburgh Artists Group Show'When: Through Nov. 15. Hours: Noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
Where: Studio K, 4027 Butler St., Lawrenceville.
Details: (412) 621-4414
