Waterworld

Stephen Burt seas life

by Leon Nigrosh

STEPHEN BURT: DRAWINGS, PAINTINGS, PRINTS At the Douglas Arts Common, 274 Main Street, Douglas, through February 14.

This exhibition provides us with an opportunity to see several similar, although different, natures of Stephen Burt's approach to his work through an assortment of techniques he has employed during the past half-dozen years.

Three prints from a series of untitled etchings Burt produced in 1992 could have been inspired from an extensive foray into that classic medical tome, Gray's Anatomy, with its penetrating and graphic illustrations of the inside and outside of the human body. Burt's prints, like Gray's images, are crisply drawn and sharply delineated visions of organic forms, shown split-screen in both external and internal views. But unlike Gray's, these images are totally imaginary configurations. They are, however, reproduced in great detail with various areas of stippling, cross-hatching, and shading employed to denote specific portions of the dermal layer and other sections, much like Dr. Gray's visual explanation of a greatly magnified gastric gland. Burt even goes so far as to offer us cross-sectional views so that we might better understand the underlying structure of these fascinating yet puzzling shapes.

For the next few years, Burt concentrated on small, highly colorful gouaches and larger monochromatic monotypes. These single-lift prints are further embellished with broad strokes of milky white gouache to reveal images of ghostly translucent seed pods as they float across darkly layered backgrounds. In sharp contrast to these prints, all seven of his small paintings burst with color. The activity occurring in Untitled #6.96 is more than suggestive of the unceasing animation of undersea life. Through watercolor layers of red, pink, and blue, fantasy creatures, sporting India ink tentacles covered with minute dots and lines, slither their way between myriad, vaguely botanical matter.

Pistils and stamens make an appearance again in Untitled #9.95, this time in reds and greens and as background for lace-like luminescent creatures as they traverse a fanciful and meticulously detailed arena. A symmetry of bifurcation takes center stage in Untitled #4.95 as an elemental foreground figure appears to divide before our eyes with its tendrils reaching into the surrounding kaleidoscopic, primal soup. All of these works evince a much more relaxed and intuitive approach to the final image than can be seen in Burt's earlier prints. While this may be due somewhat to the inherent differences in the nature of the materials and techniques, it is also a sign of his increasing artistic maturity and deeper understanding of his captivating subject matter.

It is with Burt's latest group of large oil paintings that several breakthroughs appear. His creatures have finally emerged with rudimentary faces, eyes, and ears. Colors are at their highest pitch and activity is at its most strenuous. Many of his characters now speak through word balloons in mysterious symbols stamped in thick impasto onto the canvas. The 5x4 foot And Revery Will Do offers a collection of organic figures that could be construed as embryonic ichthyoids swirling about a central geometric shape, apparently oblivious to any of their counterparts. Bright yellow creatures dominate certain areas of the composition while green and blue figures control other portions, yet the entire painting has a harmonious and ordered presence. A similar composition is evident in Le Petit Cirque, only this time the creatures -- plump pink, pale blue, and yellow worms or snakes -- circle about the only recognizable image in the entire exhibit, that of an umbrella.

All of the canvases are much looser in both construction and execution than Burt's other works in this exhibit. They are, however, infused with the same touch of humor and are every bit as fascinating, with a very strong visual and perceptual appeal. As with his smaller, more delicate paintings, you will find yourself repeatedly drawn back to these works, each time discovering some new object or relationship that can elicit an engaging experience.

The gallery is open Friday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. or by appointment. Call 476-7082.