The heART Show: Chocolates to Cherubs, Bananas to Bondage

From chocolates to cherubs and bananas to bondage, the aptly named “heART Show,” currently on display at the , is a stellar collection of local artistic talents exploring themes of love and relationships.

“It’s a really diverse body of work,” remarked , who curated the show.  Representing a broad range of styles from the figurative to the abstract, the exhibition includes works of photography, sculpture, etchings, mixed media and painting. 

Kate True’s “Breathless Kiss,” is one of the show’s signature images.  The oil on paper work is prominently displayed in the gallery’s front window, and was featured on the exhibit's invitations.  The painting shows the somewhat abstracted images of a couple with their lips tenderly pressed against each other.

 JP artist Anna Koon, also known by the graffiti-like tag of ‘a2n2,” contributed “Heart 1” to the exhibit.  The imposing, pop-inspired painting shows the word love inscribed in a brilliantly colored red heart. 

 Other artists interpret the simple, eternal shape of the heart in various ways.  “Made of Iron,” a photograph by Kate Moss, captures the ornate architectural detail of a fence guarding the contents of a garden on the other side.  John Steck’s “Heart 2” is a much-magnified photo of a raspberry that seems to reveal all of its anatomical details including aorta and arteries.

“Heart to Heart” by Roslindale artist Kasey Davis Appleman is a mixed media assemblage that looks to me like a box of truffles.  The chocolate squares are decorated with metallic details, evocative symbols of loves lost and gained, such as rings, padlocks, stars, and keys. 

April Clay’s “Simple Truth Love Letters” seems inspired by poetry and the natural world.  Half decipherable words, faded newspaper clippings, and bits of resin, surface mysteriously from the smoky pink layers of the painting’s surface to ask perhaps, “Do you love me or not?”

’s“Bunch of Bananas” gains new meaning in the context of the exhibition.  The boldly colored, purple and yellow still life seems intended to provoke other thoughts in the viewer, and testifies to Refsland’s curatorial creativity and sense of humor. 

Jonathan Stark’s photo “L’Amour Fait Mal” is a show-stopper.  The picture’s title is translated as “Love Hurts.”  The luminous silver gelatin photo shows a naked male bronze figure taking direct aim with his three-pointed trident at the heart of a bare-breasted, sculptural woman. 

Stark explained the serendipitous experience that occurred when he took the photo on a trip on to Paris.  Having walked across the Pont Alexander III many times, one day while walking very close to the railing he noticed the sculptural juxtaposition of the two figures.  The photographer said he believes that this was the result of his vantage point, and not the intention of the sculptor or the bridge’s architect.  “Of course,” he added, “being in Paris, the city of love and light, it rang especially poignant.”

 The “heART Show” will be on display at the Hallway Gallery through Feb. 20.  In honor of St. Valentine’s Day, the gallery will keep extended hours today,  Monday, Feb. 14, and will be open from 5-8 p.m.  Also on hand that evening, with free samples and items for sale, will be local chocolatier Mary Wees of MW SWEETS.