mainsite + new exhibitions

Jack R. Slentz- Family Portrait (wood)

Tom Lee- Camus (photo)

I don't know if anyone else driving down Main last week noticed, but Mainsite has a couple of new exhibitions for yer viewing pleasure. Tom Lee is a local artist with his studio in ye olde Paseo district in OKC. His exhibition of photographs, History Repeats, is a collection of pieces meant to encourage us to think about the ways we never change. The idea is deceptively simple: take a bunch of quotes about war and politics write 'em up and take their pic juxaposed with some background that either gives a sense of irony or nails the meaning home. Simple ideas often lead to lazy results from lesser artists. Lee take svery few misteps here, however. His images are as clear as their purpose. We have much to learn from ourselves; if only we would listen.

The other new occupant of Mainsite is Jack R. Slentz, an import from New Mexico. His piecesin Coming Home draw from natural forms and materials. Often it is the repetition of geometry that yields the beauty of these sometimes intricate works. Wood and leather create rectangles and show us the scars remaining from their careful creation. These are the kind of pieces that can pull a person off the street from the intriguing designs.
In case you missed the reception last weekend, you can still catch these two fascinating exhibitions and some musnik on Saturday night when Anvil Salute plays at the gallery.

Anvil Salute: from "A Discreet History of Bone"
More Power To The Party People | 8MB
Jive Talking | 4.9MB