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Science piques imagination

By Mary Voelz Chandler, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 17, 2003 at 12:39 p.m.

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The intersection of art and science is a fertile place, ground where fact and imagination meet in surprising ways.

In terms of artists based here, that could include references to sacred geometry or the weather (Sandra Kaplan), equations and scientific notation (Sue Simon), particle theory (Robert Mangold's lightning bolt-like steel ``PTTSAAES'' sculptures, as in ``A Point Traveling Through Space at an Erratic Speed''), and forces that define many of the three-dimensional pieces created by Charles Parson.

In ``Erratic Synchronization,'' though, the subject is weight and counterweight, momentum and inertia, in new work by Joseph Shaeffer. Shaeffer, who first showed work about a year ago at the too-short-lived Andenken Annex, now fills Artyard with several pedestal pieces from that series, which draw on the power of magnets to sustain/suspend objects, and newer works that incorporate kinetic processes.

And there is the centerpiece, the floor sculpture Sustension 3016:, which involves that number of small steel spheres (representing the number of people who died in attacks on Sept. 11, 2001) in an acrylic box. From that is suspended a metal mesh representation of the Twin Towers, atop a chunk of an actual beam from one of the downed buildings. Gleaming metal, precisely formed, hangs in contrast with abject rusted remains, which Shaeffer acquired from officials in New York by proposing its use in an art work.

But if Shaeffer's vision of turning destruction into rigorous form is a lure, the payoff lies elsewhere: the opportunity to again see smaller sustension-based works, which are built around the push and pull of invisible forces, plus the evolution into work with an accent on movement.

Shaeffer, who says he studied mechanical engineering for a couple of years at the University of Colorado, includes a couple of studies for pieces that flirt with the concept of perpetual motion. Start an arm turning in a work from the ``Erratic Synchronization'' series, and the trick is to see how long it keeps turning and triggering other movement.

It's not hard to detect the inspiration of George Rickey here, the father of kinetic sculpture, and Shaeffer confirms that Rickey's theoretical work is as much an influence as the forms of his sculpture.

The next step is for Shaeffer to take that scientific impulse and refine it, to match the impact of immaculate workmanship and clear thought.

A SCULPTURAL RETURN: The last time Norman Epp's work was on view in Denver, it was in an exhibition truncated by the sudden, sad closing in May of Judish Fine Art. But, over the months, several artists represented by Ron Judish are finding shows - often with his help, which, if you know Ron, you would expect.

Epp, though, has shifted representation, and more than a dozen pieces of his sculpture are scattered around the spacious Walker Fine Art, in the show ``Alchemy.'' Works in wood, stone and metal are his contribution - sleek, stylized sculptures that range from figural to vessel-inspired. It is in that second category, in cherry, ash and beech, that Epp especially excels, delving into the soul of the wood to reveal its beautiful grain and color.

Epp first made an appearance here in the late 1990s, at the now-defunct DeLeon White Gallery, after a decade of showing in Kansas and Wisconsin. (He received degrees from Bethel College, in North Newton, Kan., and the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, and studied historic sculptural techniques in Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.) His ability to pull meaning out of material, strong at DeLeon White, has continued to evolve.

For this show, owner Bobbi Walker has paired Epp's sculpture with mixed-media work by Ben Strawn that continues the flirtation with abstraction the sculpture begins. (If that last name is familiar, it's because he is the son of artists Bernice and Mel Strawn, and brother of Daniel Strawn, whose work in wood is plentiful throughout the new University of Denver college of law.)

Strawn's paintings and collages on canvas indicate an exercise in interpretation - landscape, emotion, music? - through a confident approach to line and color.

Is this ``Alchemy''? With almost 60 pieces on view here (Walker also includes glass, sculpture and two-dimensional work by anchor artists), it takes time to absorb Epp or Strawn on their own, and in relation to each other. Perhaps it's not a magical transformation, but it is engaging, especially for those who appreciate the exploration of what an artist can pull from the material at hand.

``Alchemy'' is on view through Nov. 1 at Walker Fine Art, 300 W. 11th Ave. Information: 303-355-8955.

TAKE IT BY THE HAND: Two gallery guides are out this month: Charles Whitley's annual update of ArtScape and the first edition of the Denver Art Dealers Association's Fine Art Guide.

The verdict? The DADA guide gives a page to each of the 17 galleries and consultants that belong to the group, which was resurrected in 2001 to find marketing strength in numbers. Consider this institutional advertising; for show schedules, of a sort, check DADA's web site, www.denverart.org.

As for ArtScape, Whitley again has packed a lot of information into a compact brochure, with capsules on galleries, museums and art centers ranging from the Denver metro area south through Colorado Springs (there also is a calendar of arts events). A caveat, as always, with this brochure: Galleries pay to get in and the text can range from accurate to over-the-top (``If you love art, you'll love Cherry Creek North''?!). The guide is free, so it would be incorrect to say buyer beware - but nuts-and-bolts information is the reason for being of this publication.

``EL GRECO'' UPDATE: ``El Greco to Picasso From the Phillips Collection'' as of Sunday attracted 16,334 people to the Denver Art Museum - including about 1,700 visitors on preview tours or school field trips. Advance ticket sales before the Oct. 4 opening topped 13,000. The museum is hoping for up to 180,000 visitors by Jan. 4; after that, the work travels to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville.