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Two local artists, in two ongoing solo exhibits, are exploring similar themes, albeit in different media, and with very different results. "The Body in Motion," Jackie Braitman's glass and metal sculpture is at the Art Gallery in Germantown's BlackRock Center for the Arts, and Chris Chernow's paintings that explore emotional states through the human figure are at the Orchard Gallery in Bethesda.
Braitman's work seeks to embody different aspects of the body in motion, often with specific reference to the ballet, or dance in general. Other themes are also present in the works on exhibit, such as political and feminist subjects, but even these suggest the body in motion in abstract forms.
For example, "Almost Through the Glass Ceiling #2" is part of a series of clear bent float glass constructions that are among the most compelling in the exhibit. This work has a sort of fan shape made of large pieces of glass that bend in unison while being connected to the base by hardware and a wire that ends in a hook. The bent glass is set against a sail-like metal form that points in the same direction. The sense of forward motion, with the glass pieces bending like bodies marching proudly forward, but being ultimately held back, is very evident.
Also in clear bent glass, "Desperate to Hold On" is a smaller work, conjuring two figures desperately trying to hold onto each other, the yearning and tension between them connoted in the thick wire that connects them. Similar to this in concept, but on a much larger scale, is the installation piece "Territory," composed of 12-foot bent aluminum panels with fringes of wire mesh and resin. Although "Territory" has an environmental theme, the sense of powerful bodies pulling toward each other with wavelike motion, is still at its core.
Yet, this exhibit is far from colorless. Braitman has developed elaborate glass forming techniques that allow her to infuse swirls of color into her kiln-formed works by using glass powder and frit in ultra-hot ovens. Three-paneled "Kick Start" is a good example of this effect where the abstract streamers of color seem to float around behind the sgraffito drawing of a dancer whose kick sets them in action. Some may find these wall panels a bit too nice, but a number of them, like this one and the standing piece "Rejoice #2," have a formal strength that sustains interest. These are also the works where Braitman seems to allow the greatest exploration of the place where the expression of motion and emotion converge. The changes of color scheme and the abstract patterns are expressive of emotional states, while the sgraffito drawings use images of dancers to depict movement.
Chernow works to find ways to express emotional states and movement with large figure paintings. Painted very slowly, over long periods of time, her paintings have thick, layered and rather dark surfaces. As Chernow prepares the palette for each work in progress, going back to it when she picks up the painting again, the paint is often dried and crumbly by the time it gets onto the canvas. This effect is not welcome, and lends a rather dated look to those paintings that have what appears to be sand or some other texture combined on the surface —something that really went out of fashion about 40 years ago. Nevertheless, overall, the paintings are strong and capture attention, sometimes remaining in memory for quite a while. They have a simplicity and solitude about them that connote certain intimate emotional states, and since the artist will frequently show the same model in different poses in the same field, an impression of turning or changing position is implied. Thus, like Braitman, Chernow seeks the place where the two intersect. Her figures never have defined facial features, intending to keep the viewer from identifying specific individuals, but rather the motion/emotion they express on a more universal level.
Some of the paintings are particularly reminiscent of Degas' late pastels, which he also worked slowly in layer upon layer. In Degas' work, the underlayers are more visible, with a more varied palette, but Chernow admits to seeking a similar effect. Among the most interesting paintings in the exhibit is a large work showing a girl, deep in thought, seated beside a table in an interior. Most of the other paintings do not include this feature. More commonly, Chernow's figures are painted to merge with a neutral ground. A loss of edges is meant to encourage a flow between environment and figure.
In "Girl with Flowers," the figure is more defined in pictorial space. Two containers, one holding flowers, are on the table. The gray tones here contrast with the oranges in the figure and the wall behind her. However, touches of the same gray on the figure relate her to both the table and flowers close to the picture plane. The composition is again reminiscent of Degas, as are the use of color correspondence and the layered technique. "Aspiration" shows the same model in four poses — they look like dancers — turning toward and away from the viewer in a deeply mottled environment. And "Patience" showing two views of what appears to be an older African-American woman in a summer dress, expresses a sense of that virtue with quiet strength behind it.
