Well, Don't Rubber Duckies Make You Feel Good?


In the midst of a brief shopping run, we stopped impulsively at the Lascano Gallery at 297 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA.

The gallery’s colorful and playful new exhibit will be on view through Jan. 7.

Gads, 2007!

"In the Spirit of Play" is what the exhibit is called, and it will charm people of all ages. Well laid out with lots of space in which to highlight the art, these eccentric, often humorous and always colorful pieces are often just plain fun to view.

Hundreds of rubber duckies.

Why not?

If one or two are good — and who doesn’t remember them or still see their children using them — why not hundreds of all sizes and postures, optimistically grinning at us? Strength in numbers, right?

Robert Cronin, an artist who lives and works in Falls Village, CT, and who is skilled in figurative art (and who has an exhibit at The Moviehouse Studio Gallery, through March 1), has several small paintings on view. J.K. Lawson creates absolutely delightful pieces — some to hang on walls and some freestanding.

Mardi Gras beads outline frames, and "mixed media" fill them in inventive ways. "American Gothic," for example, mimics the famous Grant Wood

painting, but the two main figures have deer for heads and the pitchfork becomes a Crayola crayon.

Statuesque pieces by Ron Edwards, like "Why Me?" have an edgy quality within their inviting first impressions. Why does a doll figure have matches sticking out all over it?

So these pieces are not all fun and games, especially if you want to take the time to look at them closely. But if you just want a pleasant respite from stores jammed with things that almost nobody needs and many do not want, stop in at this new gallery. You can browse around works by a dozen or so artists, almost all of whom enjoy color for its ability to bring a viewer in.

What you take away from all this is up to you.

Some young children saw all the fun and laughed out loud. Nothing wrong with enjoying a visit to a gallery. All does not have to be doom and gloom. And you do not have to leave feeling upset or disturbed.

Some of the works, however, bear closer study and some explanation might be helpful.

Maybe the artists want it that way, though.

Maybe they just want people to stop, look around, smile, because they can’t keep from smiling, and walk away feeling better than when they walked into the Lascano Gallery.

 

 


For information, call 413-528-0471 or go to www.lascanogallery.com

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