(Enlarge) Ellen Hill’s abstracts, like “Still” in the detail above, are inclluded in “(trans) TEXTURE,” now in Gallery I of the Howard County Center for the Arts in Ellicott City through Aug. 14.

Artists often make their mark on paper, but not always as literally as in the exhibit "(trans) TEXTURE" at the Howard County Center for the Arts. That's because the five artists in the show overtly rely upon handmade paper or paper pulp in the construction of their art.

Its fussy title aside, the exhibit is pretty straightforward in demonstrating that paper can be more than the lowly support for lofty artwork. Whether used as the surface for printmaking or given sculptural shapes, paper is the main attraction here.

A traditional printmaking function is evoked by Georgia Deal, who places screenprinted imagery and pulp transfer onto handmade paper. The recurring images in her multiple-panel works include schematically depicted airplanes, birds, ships and the printed word "escape." There is not a specific narrative, but the images collectively take flight.

That message is deliberately muted, however, by the papermaking process deployed. The images have a ghostly presence, as if lightly traced against the richly textured paper. Rather than seeming to fly off the paper, the images seem like they may well sink even further into it.

Relatively more traditional painterly possibilities are explored by two other artists in the show. Shannon Brock's pulp paintings rely on cheerful colors and childlike figuration as she depicts cups, bowls, ladders, light bulbs and other objects sharing the same loosely organized space. Although the overall effect is visually pleasing, it doesn't have much of a thematic impact.

Ellen Hill's pulp paintings include the abstract "Red Pink I" and "II," in which she uses gridded arrangements of very small blocks of color. Unlike so many artists who have used gridded compositions in the expected precise and pristine manner, these grids have a slightly jumbled and melting quality, as if the overlapping colors refuse to stay within the lines. The paper pulp medium facilitates that sort of rough-textured feeling.

Hill has other paintings with representational imagery set against a gridded backdrop, such as the ominously silhouetted black raven resting on a branch in "Wait." Again, the paper pulp medium gives the bird a solid and even menacing presence.

Relying in a literal-minded way upon a gridded structure is Nnenna Okore, whose "Repossessed" utilizes handmade paper, dye and twine to make what amounts to a thin, gridded blanket hanging against the gallery wall. It's significant that this dark black piece has a lot of holes in it, because you find yourself looking through it and at the backing white wall.

Adding to this piece's visual appeal is that it does not hang flat against the wall, but has a gently billowing quality. What easily could have been a rigidly austere wall hanging instead has a more relaxed and rippling nature.

Gretchen Schermerhorn proves her ability to place screen-printed and letterpress imagery on handmade paper in "Genetic Drift," but she creatively comes into her own with more sculptural pieces such as "Bough II" and "III." Made from cast handmade paper and waxed linen thread, these suspended sculptural assemblages contain bulbous and pendulous forms that are like a biomorphic fantasy dangling in front of you.

"(trans) TEXTURE" remains through Aug. 14 in Gallery I of the Howard County Center for the Arts, at 8510 High Ridge Road, in Ellicott City. Running concurrently in Gallery II is "No Boundaries," featuring expressive artwork by developmentally disabled youths and adults who take classes run by the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks. Call 410-313-2787 or go to www.hocoarts.org.

user comments (0)