Wednesday, February 8, 2006

Kindler's dreams take wing at Anne Reed


By MICHAEL AMES
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Judith Kindler working in her studio in Seattle. The piece on the easel is "Dream 139."

Judith Kindler's show opened Feb. 1 and will remain on display through the first week of March at the Anne Reed Gallery in Ketchum. Meet Kindler and discuss her work at the Feb. 17 gallery walk, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Maybe it's Hitchkock's fault. But an overabundance of winged creatures always seems dangerous.

In Judith Kindler's solo show, "The Dreams," little birds seem to be everywhere, and their intentions are unclear.

As their creator, Kindler does not jump to defend them. Rather, she admits to inviting them into "The Dreams," a body of work nearly two years in the making, precisely for their unpredictable ways.

"The birds fulfill for me what the human figure does," she said, noting the birds' propensity for intelligent, yet mischievous behavior in "The Dreams."

In the large-scale encaustic works, Kindler's birds can be seen as either benign guests—such as when they perch atop a stack of crumpets—or malevolent little intruders, ready to untie precariously dangling glass jars and bottles. They never fly, but instead seem to be in a state of perpetual loitering.

In "Dream 138," the birds take on a more overtly insidious nature as they stand sentry over a small boy who has found his way behind the bars of a birdcage. Or have the birds trapped him?

The themes raised by Kindler's dreamscapes are, like dreams themselves, fittingly ambiguous. In the spirit of the greatest surrealists, Kindler brings her formidable painting and drawing talents to bear on "The Dreams." (She studied painting and sculpture at Kent State in the late 1960s and, yes, she "was literally there," when the school's infamous National Guard shootings took place.)

Working from large-scale printouts of digital photographs, she creates breathtaking recreations of the smallest detail of an everyday object, such as cloth, paper or a shaving brush. Always contrasted against dark backgrounds, Kindler has combined the Renaissance-era technique of "chiaroscuro" with the modern benefits of digital photography and printing. The marriage of the two has a way of enshrining banal objects in classically surreal, meditative states of grandeur.

"I reject the idea of decorative," Kindler said. Yet she also concedes that the thematic tensions present in "The Dreams" are only "simple narratives," usually introduced by the birds.

What is apparent, when viewed in relation to her entire body of work, is that these are not Kindler's most difficult paintings. In "Defining Truth," her previous solo show, she confronted harder issues, such as the loss of innocence and society's inherent sexism towards young girls.

While Kindler says she rejects the purely decorative, the encaustics of "The Dreams" are nonetheless accessible, aesthetically appealing works of art. They are painted with an earthy, soothing palette and are, despite the skin-deep narratives presented by the birds' mischief, decorative works.

With more than 25 years of experience split between fine art and designing textiles, furnishings and art-based marketing strategies, Kindler is steeped in art that sells; she can't help but create appealing compositions. Her high-end painted fabric has sold for as much as $150 per yard and hangs in some of Las Vegas' plushest penthouses.

In her fine art painting, Kindler will and has pushed her own thematic limits, sometimes veering into more complex psychological or social issues than are evident in "The Dreams." The fact that her current exhibit is sweeter eye candy than others says more about the Ketchum art world, however, than it does anything about Kindler's often-compelling work.

The question arises: Does easy work seek a home in Ketchum, or do local galleries court accessible, safe art that is sure not to offend?

The showplaces and spaces of the Sun Valley Gallery Association rarely house the confrontational, edgy work so common in their metropolitan counterparts. It is unclear whether this is a conscious decision made by gallery owners and artists or if it is simply an idiosyncrasy of the local art environment.

With many customers coming through the galleries on vacation, difficult art may be repellent to eyes seeking refuge from the accosting images ubiquitous in big cities.

Fortunately for Kindler, she is an established artist with followings both in town and country. No stranger to the city, she has had recent shows in Seattle, Portland and Scottsdale, Ariz. In 1998, Kindler opened the doors of Atelier 31, her own studio turned innovative gallery space where clients can witness her artistic process firsthand.

Having visited Sun Valley for 26 years, Kindler understands the draw of the quiet community. As for showing her own work here, though, she waited for the right time.

"The gallery scene has come to a level where it is appropriate," she said.




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