Mini's minies

Sculptor Evelyn Klein has no fear of flying

by Leon Nigrosh

EVELYN KLEIN: EXPRESSIONS IN BRONZE At the ARTSWorcester Mini Gallery, 25 Foster Street, through August 31.

Bronze sculpture is easily thought of in epic proportions: think Donatello's (1386-1466) massive equestrian monuments, Auguste Rodin's (1840-1917) heroic scenes, and Fernando Botero's robust figures. But Evelyn Klein's cast and fabricated bronze sculptures are the near antithesis. Few of her figures are more than three inches tall. Size does matter -- in this case, small is beautiful and monumental.

While her figures may be confined by the size of her equipment (a 9x9x9" furnace and a crucible that holds a mere one pound of metal), Klein's imagination is not. The best example of her attempt to capture motion (the show's theme) is her tiny Pole Vaulter caught in mid-flight as he perilously clings to the end of a curved rod. The spring-loaded tension is heightened by Klein's treatment of the sportsman's extended sinewy arms and legs presented in such detail that the soles of his shoes are dotted with tiny cleats.

In-flight activity is carried over to her small Basketball Player seen at the top of his arc as he slam dunks. In The Wild Ones three bronze horses, nearly flat in cross-section, leap over small bronze hillocks. High Flyer, a leaping dancer, and Ghost Dancers both show the beauty of dance and motion.

Klein studied at Mass Art in the early '40s, but she did not return to her first love until 40 years later. Now she creates her unique sculptures through the process known as cire perdue, or "lost wax" technique, in which soft wax sculptures are encased in plaster, the wax burned out, and then molten bronze poured into the cavity. When the metal has cooled, Klein often needs to braze pieces together to complete the work.

The use of flat sheets of wax is noticeable in Klein's recent The Hummingbird. Again she attempts to freeze the moment, this time as a usually blurry-winged hummingbird drinks nectar from a flower. This work is less-representational than others, having become more gestural, with the details now less-important than the idea of capturing movement. This same direction is also evident in Heaven Sent, which depicts a winged horse pawing at the sky.

These Lilliputian sculptures are mounted on found bits of stone or wood. In most cases, the base is appropriate to the work. However, some of the pedestals, particularly the fragments of wood and stone, assume greater prominence than they should, diminishing the effectiveness of the expressive bronze.

Each of the 15 sculptures on view is original work, or artist's proofs from a proposed limited edition of 10.

The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 755-5142.