We are living in uncertain times filled with the anxiety of being here one day and gone the next. The group exhibition focuses on military conflict, juxtaposing serious political themes with the prosaic. Nancy Sophy discusses the Lebanon-Israel conflict with her series of paintings entitled “Lebanon, July 12, 2006.” Through her colorful pastel sketches, she tries to assuage the situation. Tadashi Moriyama shows his animated video, “Flight Home,” a trip through space on which one doesn’t reach his or her destination. Hiro Sakaguchi’s military acrylic paintings contrast images of suburban life with artillery invasion. “Hibachi Night” shows a grill cooking food while flames shoot up as planes fly into the fire. Jamie Treadwell’s rose hued paintings speak louder than bombs. He uses children suburbanites and plants them in martial situations. In “Night Watch,” a little boy wears a helmet and sits on guard in a space-age-like boat ready to fire. The stark black background emphasizes the objects. “Training Camp” features a little girl wearing a camouflaged bathing suit immersed in a kiddie pool, suggesting loss of innocence at a young age. Finally, Duncan MacKenzie and Christian Kuras give “Vitrine,” two sirens encased spinning around silently, radiating urgency. Here, art sheds light on our deepest fears. (Garin Pirnia)
Through Feb 16 at Green Latern Gallery, 1511 N. Milwaukee, 2nd floor, (773)235-0936.
Lost in Translation: A Review of Crip* at Gallery 400 The strongest works in the exhibition succinctly express the ways the artist relates to their own body while calling out how the artist’s body and body of work has been perceived or coded against norms or ideals.
Repurposing AI: A Review of Stephanie Dinkins at Stamps Gallery While this show is timely for everyone, I consider its setting within a university art gallery and emerging tech hub like the city of Ann Arbor a subversive provocation which Dinkins invites the greater public—including members of the university community—to consider our own positionality to AI and technology.
