Why is there something rather than nothing?

Lisa Perez’s current exhibit, still even now, at the 5 Traverse Gallery is a meditative study in being and nothingness. The exhibit consists of small sculptural installations made of paper and wood. Her designs are poetic. They simplify the physical world without belittling it. Her best pieces are simultaneously microscopic and macroscopic. Organic grids and delicate squares cast shadows onto the gallery walls. These shadows define the physicality of each piece and in doing so aestheticize them. Yes, defined and aestheticized by shadows, which is to say defined and aestheticized by death and/or nothingness. Death is indeed the mother of all beauty, and thus the exhibit poses Heidegger’s famous question (paraphrased by Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In the Aeroplane over the Sea”): Why is there something rather than nothing? How strange it is.

Perez responds to the question with an elegant boldness. Her perspective is multifarious, but she does not reduce the physical world to chicken-shit relativism. Her answer is this — there is neither nothing nor something (triple negative?). There is everything and it happens all at once, from every angle, from every standpoint. (More after jump.)

5 Traverse Gallery, exhibit runs through November 22, 5 Traverse Street

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These are the gals responsible for that gigantic mural going up at the speed of light on Cushing Street, hired by CVS as part of an all-round sprucing up.  From left to right we have Christina Graham (RISD ‘11) and RISD grads Annabeth Marks and Alison Kizu-Blair, who have joined to form a new business called Mammoth Murals (and will have a website up shortly). They were very anxious that I also credit Michael, but I really don’t see that he could have improved this photo. Rule of threes, right?  I’ll get him later when the wall is finished. You can sit and watch the gals work in caffeinated comfort from the patio of Blue State Coffee.

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All the news that’s fit to paint

Tsunamis kill people in Bali. Car bombs kill people in Iraq. The Internet is killing newspapers. The major news networks report on these killings with state of the art sensationalism and hi-tech dehumanization. Rhode Island artist David Barnes paints this process and the result is benignly seductive.

Starting this Friday, Barnes’ work will be on display at the 5 Traverse Gallery. The exhibit runs until September 13 and you don’t want to miss it. To paraphrase NBC, this is Must See Art. The exhibition is a collection of watercolors and oil paintings based on video stills from the nightly news. In his three large oil paintings, Barnes depicts street scenes from the world’s most televised locations, places where the major TV networks can always bank on environmental and political catastrophe. Unlike the major networks, Barnes treats the subject matter with the utmost sensitivity and sensuality. He achieves this by rendering his victims and onlookers in serene blues and grays that I dare liken to Picasso’s blue guitar. His colors are poetic, whether depicting a mass of body bags in an Indonesian marketplace or the dusky hues of evening prayer in downtown Jerusalem. (more after jump)

Opening reception 6pm to 8pm, Friday, 5 Traverse Street

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Come view new works by Hilary Merzbacher, recent graduate of the RISD Illustration Department and the latest to be LAUNCHed. (You can meet Hilary at a reception on Friday August 28th.) LAUNCH at the Gail Cahalan Gallery has been designed exclusively to bridge RISD senior students and recent graduates with the local community as an initial public viewing. Featuring works from graduates and seniors across all disciplines of fine art and design, LAUNCH offers an opportunity to view, connect, and witness the ripe transformation of emerging talent.

Gail Cahalan Gallery, Providence Piers (show will be up for Gallery Night this Thursday)

Roil & Flush a new show featuring the work of Anna Shapiro and Will Machin kicks off with a free reception tonight.  Live music — Allysen Callery & the Land of Nod, Alec K. Redfearn (he’s everywhere!) and Tallahassee Brown.

reception 6pm to 9pm, Firehouse 13, 41 Central Street