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Written by Kat Murrell
Jun 2, 2011
“Chutes” by Curt Crain is currently on display at Anaba Tea Room. – Photo: Courtesy
If the languid days of summer aren’t showing up quite fast enough for you, there are a couple of current exhibitions designed to conjure up the pleasant months ahead. Both are on view at places for drinks and socializing, and each aims to be as comfy as a favorite hammock.
The relaxed and genteel Anaba Tea Room is on the lower level of The Garden Room, 2107 E. Capitol Drive. It is one of the best uses of a basement space for a restaurant in Milwaukee, as the center atrium is open to the glass greenhouse and rooftop garden, illuminating the room with curiously filtered light. Anaba holds regularly changing exhibitions, and the latest show features the breezy, nautical paintings of “Curt Crain: On the Water,” on view through June 26.
Crain is described as an Impressionist artist, and though his other motifs include flowers and figure painting, this particular group shows Crain’s affection for sailboats, water and almost anything connected with the lakefront. A few canvases capture the glistening lights of downtown and the Riverwalk area, as well as the tranquility of Bradford Beach. But, what Crain does most notably is take the focus of his painting out from the shore and into the domain of the sailor. This artist is not a landlubber. The stark horizon in the distance beckons as we turn our backs on dry land and head into the wind and waves.
Lest one imagine that sailing on any given day is just like another, Crain dispels that notion with the variety of atmospheres and boating narratives he creates. Some pictures billow with brightly colored sailboats in close chase, such as “Chutes.” The sails are full as boats speed forward, smooth and sleekly gliding. It’s a picture of energy and control, but also suggests a painterly interest in the architecture of boats. The tall masts cross the long horizon; the sails and hulls add counterpoints of curved grace.
Some of Crain’s most interesting works emphasize the foundational elements of line and shape, particularly by slimming down the details. A few compositions explore the arrangement of a small, isolated boat, suspended in a watery world, alone and waiting. One minimalist piece, called “Fox Point,” is devoid of boats altogether, but offers a poignant view from a distance. It is as though we are out on the lake while the water and sky melt into washes of blue, and the land narrows to a point, sighing into the liquid depths.
Another exhibition specifically organized around images of warm weather months is at Art Bar, 722 East Burleigh St., with “Summer in Wisconsin” through July 14. This group show, curated by proprietor Don Krause, is tightly cohesive in style and subject.
Though Art Bar is located in the heart of Riverwest, the exhibition is like a window to the Wisconsin countryside where happy cows roam, the grass is always green and tranquility reigns among barnyard pals. Cows by multiple artists appear in this show, as though painting the patchy black and white backs of Holsteins against lush fields is just too much to resist. There are a few images of the Milwaukee lakefront as well, but this exhibition is largely a trip outside of the city environment.
The most interesting group is a series of works by Marie Myler, where six small paintings (including cows) are arranged around two square panels, each showing a woman outdoors in old-fashioned dress, busily hanging bright white laundry on a line to dry. The titles of the works, “Saturday” and “Wednesday,” suggest a specific day and duty, but what year is this? There is a strange timelessness in this group of pictures, suggestive of an unseen and unchanging Wisconsin.
A sparky variation on traditional bucolic fare is found in Pamela Ruschman’s “Chicken Ranch II.” In these two small works, typically charming chickens poke around, but you can lift the painting by a string (to which a plastic egg is attached) to reveal a cheekier picture underneath.
Taken as a pair, the exhibitions at Anaba Tea Room and Art Bar offer summer motifs as warm and familiar as a favorite, dog-eared novel that has seen many trips to the beach. There are scant provocative or challenging gestures, but these works offer pleasant accompaniments to summertime socializing.
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