Black vs. White

Ambitious show makes profound statements with brush strokes

Black and white: The racial dividing line; classics of timeless elegance; good and evil.

The list goes on.

Robert and Megan Lange, owners of Robert Lange Studios, have been hosting an annual group show for the past few years.

Last year, the Langes chose the theme of "Yellow vs. Blue." The artists and the public loved the color idea and, they said, the show was a great success.

So, the Langes decided to do it again, this time with "Black vs. White." Black and white come loaded with their own societal implications and connotations. They aren't even allowed in the rainbow.

More than 30 artists were asked to come up with a pair of paintings that exemplified their own interpretations on the "Black vs. White" theme.

The result is much more than paintings colored in either black or white. The paintings were thought-provoking, most with profound meanings interjected into the paint strokes.

Robert Lange said that "many of the artists expressed how comfortable they were creating one of the pieces and how challenged they were trying to make its partner piece."

He made a statement about technology vs. nature with one of his painting pairs fashioned after Rene Magritte's famous "This is Not a Pipe."

"This is Not an Orchid" was of a trompe l'oeil iPhone with an image of an orchid on the screen, and beside it was "This is Also Not an Orchid," a trompe l'oeil version of an orchid stem and flower.

The excitement of everyone involved was contagious.

"There's a natural pressure and excitement that revolves around a show of this size," said Robert Lange. "Artists try to make their most creative works for group shows, knowing these paintings are going to hang next to 30 of their peers all trying to do the same thing."

Nathan Durfee said he was particularly excited to see work from local artists that are not normally seen, like Karen Silvestro and Erik Johnson.

Karen Silvestro

Karen Silvestro made a strong societal statement with her symbolic paintings called "Open" and "Closed."

In each piece, the female is not a true woman but a doll placed in a stage setting, indicating that she is not the one in control of herself.

In "Closed," a controlling hand holds the strings to a marionette of an Islamic woman completely covered in a burka, yet still trying to cover herself even more on her bare stage.

In "Open," a hand pulls the opulent curtains back to show a nude, exposed, "perfect" Barbie, proudly standing center stage, surrounded by glitz and glamour. Upon closer observation, you'll see there is a noose in the corner, signifying that even those whose lives seem "perfect" are not always truly happy.

Nathan Durfee

One pair of Nathan Durfee's paintings showed an interesting way of interpreting the vegetarian vs. carnivore argument. The cheerful black bear in "Bob Finds the Last Blueberries" is delicately placing blueberries on a stick.

The solemn white bear in "Peter Waits for the Last Seal" is holding a knife and looking among the glaciers for his dinner.

I must say that Bob looks much happier than Peter.

Gary Grier

Gary Grier painted "Slumber" and "Awake."

In "Slumber," an older African-American man is sleeping peacefully on a leather couch.

In "Awake," an old white man has an extremely unnerving and uncomfortable expression on his face as he frantically grasps at the bed sheets.

Susan Harrell

The candy and fruit paintings were done by Susan Harrell.

"Time of Greed" is a delicious still-life painting full of candy, and "Time of Need" is another still life, but of various fruits.

Harrell apparently had mentioned to Megan Lange that she had thought of titling them "Good vs. Evil" but couldn't figure out which would go with which.

Amy Lind

Amy Lind uses a pair of comedy and tragedy masks.

"Hanging by a Thread" depicts a black tragedy mask that is literally "hanging by a thread." And since tragedy is typically more complex, there is also an old photograph, a postcard and a key in the painting.

The companion piece, "Sitting Pretty" is the white comedy mask and a simple red rose.

Erik Johnson

There were many pairs that simply stood their ground, such as the one by newcomer Erik Johnson, "Chaos Theory" and "Ritual."

These two renditions of blue paint in a clear glass and white background, and white paint in a clear glass with a black background showed that this is one artist to watch.

If you go

What: 'Black vs. White' art show.

Where: Robert Lange Studios at 2 Queen St., downtown Charleston.

When: Through February. Gallery hours are noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.

Info: www.robertlangestudios.com or 805-8052.

Cast your vote

Following last weekend's opening, the gallery had artists and patrons take the buttons that depict which color they think had a stronger showing. So far, 'white' is in the lead. Stop in this month to see the show and share your opinion.