so while floating in the pool with a cold beer and looking around me at the water under the sun, i was thinking about the small moses piece at the blake gallery that was really my favorite. i wish i could remember it's title. in any event, sometimes you just wish you walked around with 4 grand in your pocket... water, motion, etc.

checked out bergamot station, some strong stuff going on... at ruth bachofner, barbara kerwin and gary edward blum made for a really impressive pairing. blum's work has that full-on originality that rarely comes about-- he's working the representation of the abstract that my friend, wess dahlberg has so eloquently operated in for the last few years. blum goes a bit too far for me though. his hand and his eye are sure, but i'd appreciate just some straight abstraction, the representative just a bit too much. but nicely done, really well done...

barbara kerwin's work has gone from the sculpturaly minimal to a take on the grid and it's potential. she works in encaustic, now adding acrylic and it's flat opacity, for a more complex visual give and take. the wax rests in relief on the surface almost quivering there in it's armature. this is sensitive, poetic stuff that one should expect from an artist of her stature.

at frank lloyd gallery there was some great porcelin sculpture by cheryl ann thomas. the pieces were modest sized and very powerful, given their scale. modestly priced as well. like i said, you just want to walk around with 4 grand on you when you check out the scene... thomas somehow manages to give the work the look of fabric layered upon itself, or indeed, carelessly tossed into a corner and left behind. this is a work with the handsome incidental quality i really relate to. to be honest, this is probably the first time i've seen porcelin as a medium of real power in contemporary art-- outside of the utilitarian or decorative. very refreshing...

bobbie greenfield presented david shapiro, the show consists of a few paintings and works on paper.... tough, organic labors-- gesture, soft line, earthen palette. startling compositions in horizontal formats that really seduced the eye...