University of Virginia Library

'Touch-Me-Ables' — Kind Of Fun To Play With

By MARION RITTER

"I've wasted the better
years of my life looking for
something good in Western
art," commented the collector,
standing on a 19th
century Chinese carpet,
surrounded by Oriental
screens, scrolls, and paintings.

If anyone else had heard
him at a reception opening the
Charlottesville Collector's
Show, there might have been
trouble at the Second Street
Gallery. But everyone wanted
to talk about their pieces, and
the lively exchange went
unnoticed.

The Collector's Show is a
unique event for the area.
Formerly, art exhibits have
been for benefits and have not
been open to the general
public, explained Eugene
Markowski, the Gallery's
vice-president. "Charlottesville
has been more oriented to
music than art in the past," he
said.

Linda Kennard,
artist-member of the Gallery,
said of the present exhibition,
"It's a unique show. We feel
that it serves the purpose of
the Gallery.....We see this as a
give-and-take effort."

The give and take between
the community and the Gallery
is evident in the willingness of
local collectors of art to lend
their pieces, many of which
could only be seen otherwise in
those homes opened during
Garden Week. They range from
a third century Chinese
sculpture to a standing mobile
by Alexander Calder. In
between are European and
American works spanning the
17th to the 20th century.

Works by Gottlieb, Leger,
and Rouault are represented at
the Gallery, and the names
themselves are more familiar in
the twentieth century than
that of Philip Hale, but as one
of the American
Impressionists, his work at the
Gallery is of some interest. His
daughter, Mrs. Fredson
Bowers, standing by works of
her father which clealy bears
the influence of Monet,
explained that he studied in
Paris at the time of Monet, and
was in fact a friend of the
family. An exhibition of his
work in New York in 1902 was
said to be the first of American
Impressionist art.

One design which evoked
the interest and involvement of
viewers was an untitled work
by Harry Bertoia, loaned by
Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Cross.
A loosely twisted bundle of
thin bronze rods in a base
standing on a Plexiglas box
were unavoidably
"touch-me-able." Mr. Cross
remarked, "I thought it
was-kind of fun to play with."
Running a hand across the top

of it and pointing out the
qualities of dancing light it
creates, Mrs. Cross remarked,
"It's like random motion."

The Charlottesville
Collector's Show is a reflection
of the enthusiasm and
imagination that are qualities
of a personality pervading the
bright, unpretentious Second
Street Gallery. The show is not
eye-dazzling, but it is worth
seeing, to be aware of the
growing community
involvement in its new Gallery.
In addition to its regular
weekday hours of Tues-Fri. 11
a.m. to 4p.m. and Saturday 10
a.m. to 5 p.m., the Gallery will
be opened on Sundays from 1
to 5 p.m. through April 6 for
the present show.