CHANDLER: From landscapes to sculptures, Rule Gallery exhibition keys on relationship to nature

By Mary Voelz Chandler, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 28, 2008 at 7 p.m.

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Jacob Feige's 2007-2008 oil and alkyd resin on canvas Sun Bleached.

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If you feel as if you've been bombarded with enough "green," raise your hand. I certainly do, and believe this rampant use of the term to sell everything under the sun has hurt the real message of the environmental movement.

So when word comes of an exhibition that promises to address anything having to do with the environment or ecological concerns, it's natural to feel skeptical. But knowing the level of quality Rule Gallery maintains, I wasn't too worried about "Eco-Centric."

That's because owner Robin Rule has a particularly good eye when it comes to building a group show, theme or no theme. And that certainly holds true in "Eco-Centric."

Environment here might better be defined as the way in which artists demonstrate their relationship to nature. That said, the work covers a variety of mediums and levels of intensity, back into the 1980s, while exploring the power of the world around us.

Upon entering, paintings by Jacob Feige integrate his view of the landscape with the addition of geometric forms. The complexity of weaving abstraction with landscape forms stands out in Sun Bleached, with its obvious natural statement augmented by the artist's non-representational additions as well as something that very much recalls a geodesic dome.

For a link to the past, head back to the viewing room area at Rule: Clark Richert's Drop City Panorama documents structures - including that dome form - that marked the 1970s Colorado artists community that still inspires Richert's work. The piece also is a nod to the last time this country felt any urgency about its energy consumption, a reminder that concerns about our relationship with the planet are not new.

Across from Feige's work are three paintings by Nathan Abels that offer a different view of his talents. Viewers familiar with Abels' almost-exaggerated architectural views will see a different side to this Denver-based artist, in three new landscapes that capture both the potentially destructive power of nature (Without Haste, But Without Rest) and its beauty (Monument).

A walk back through "Eco-Centric" continues this nature study, from two ceramic sculptures by Kim Dickey, a wall assemblage of evocative natural elements cast in bronze by Yoshitomo Saito, a pair of almost ethereal early 1980s works on paper by Richard Tuttle, and the 1988 tree-based sculpture River Daughter by Hanno Ahrens. This view back more than two decades offers context, while Ahren's work also appears to split the gallery and add rhythm to the installation.

Mary Ehrin's focus on material is apparent in a lush, feminine interpretation of the natural world in the painting Golden Arabesque, while her tiny Jeweled Jetty presents a view of the Spiral Jetty in crystals. (It should be seen as celebratory, since the state of Utah has told the firm that wants to drill near this revered earthwork that its application was inadequate for obtaining permits.)

The mood again becomes quiet, with an installation of Heidi Jung's botanical photos on one wall, turning the corner into a series of her ink and charcoal drawings of insects. Detail is paramount here; reality stressed.

A dreamy abstracted digital print by Ted Kincaid, luminous paintings by Nancy Jeffrey, and Gretchen Schaefer's combination of delicate line and weighty plywood round out the show.

It's not exactly a walk in the park, but "Eco-Centric" certainly could inspire one, perhaps with an amplified sense of respect.

Mary Chandler is the art and architecture critic. chandlerm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2677

Eco-Centric

* What: Group show on an environmental theme

* Where and when: Rule Gallery, 227 Broadway; through Sept. 13

* Information: 303-777-9473; rulegallery.com

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