Beverly Kedzior, "Gummy Trail I," mixed media on paper
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This group show at David Weinberg Gallery brings together the work of three female Chicago artists: Stephanie Serpick, Beverly Kedzior and Tricia Rumbolz. Rumbolz’s work is one part meticulous technician and one part performance. Her “Dots” series is displayed in the gallery’s intimate back room. Accomplished in 12-, 24- and 48-hour periods, the artist committed herself to stitching tiny white dots in a loose, draping square shape. The sheer persistence at work in these pieces is impressive. Beverly Kedzior’s paintings function as a bouncy contrast in color and form. Her layered patterning presents a kind of ethereal cartoon world and all the works reference each other. The third artist, Serpick, culls the meditative element from Rumbolz’s work and contains evidence of Kedizior’s overlay of structures.
It comes as no surprise that Serpick is a graphic designer by trade. The designs that course through her work are emblematic of trends that are widely used across print and advertising mediums. Fleur-de-lis decorative trails run throughout a number of popular advertisements, and despite the overuse of these designs, her skill as a painter gives a luscious and layered treatment to what would otherwise be an overused motif. Her careful drafting is all hand-done and she expertly executes the veil-like layers that are evident in all of her works for the “Overlap” show. The gradation of color in these paintings defies photographic representation and I found that the Web site images differ significantly from the real thing. If there is one thing that links all three of the artists in the “Overlap” exhibit, it is their defiance of digital reproduction, and each would best be considered in person. (MK Meador)
