‘Primitive’ affirmation
Glass and bronze sculpture collaboration a stunning blend
Collaborations are all the rage these days, but not all collaborations are created equal. In the case of “Guardians: A Glass and Bronze Collaboration” by Elodie Holmes and Enrico Embroli at Exhibit 51, it is a successful aesthetic meeting of the minds that blows most others into the weeds.
The show is visually fresh and beautifully presented in one of the nicest gallery spaces in Albuquerque. The glass and bronze sculptures are a mixture of prehistoric European and Near Eastern cultural iconography as well as early modernism as it represented an affirmation of the “primitive” arts of Africa, Mesoamerica, North American Indian cultures and Australia.
Though all 37 pieces were executed in the past 1½ years, they could easily pass for artifacts from a civilization that disappeared thousands of years ago. Many of the works are reminiscent of the Danube Valley civilization that developed a written language with 700 characters, produced ceramic pottery, understood the concept of the wheel and created copious amounts of sculpture and architecture 7,500 years ago.
In works such as “Amigos,” “Ocean Guardian,” Sea Fantasy” and “Temptation,” the spiral form plays a key role. Besides the DNA helix, galactic formations and whirlpools, the ubiquitous spiral was the main inspiration for philosopher Walter Russell’s 1926 tome “The Universal One.” In Russell’s attempt to reconcile art, philosophy and science in a truly “unified field theory” Russell said the spiral was the face of God in all things.
When an art exhibit conjures such far-reaching connections, whether true or not, it has to contain powerful and evocative imagery. The “Guardians” collection has all of that while beautifully mingling smoothly wrought molten glass forms with hand-wrought and less perfectly smooth bronze elements that give them all the ageless character and patina of recently exhumed artifacts.
In a way, that is what these sculptures are — recently exhumed artifacts from Holmes’ and Embroli’s collective unconscious. Asked about the cultural roots of the show, Embroli said the collaboration with Holmes became a coalescence of everything he had seen during his long career.
In “Ocean Guardian” we find a beautifully rendered image that may symbolize the Babylonian water god Oannes or other humanized fishlike beings from ancient mythologies.
In “Temptation,” the dynamic duo revisits Eden to witness Eve’s dialogue with the serpent. The ship-like vessel carrying Eve has a bird as its masthead, connecting the piece to Aztec mythology regarding the bird and serpent that identified the final Aztec homeland.
My favorite ship sculpture, titled “Forgotten Souls,” is a bronze vessel riding upon a mound of sun-bleached bones. The arrangement underlines the plight of immigrants fleeing famine, ethnic cleansing and war throughout our history. Unfortunately, the chilling message of “Forgotten Souls” applies to our current forced migration tragedies.
Both artists are highly ranked in the global arts mainstream but are among New Mexico’s “hidden treasures” at home.
Holmes is an internationally recognized and award-winning Santa Fe glass artist who has work in the White House collection and countless museums and galleries. Holmes was born into a family of artists in Washington, D.C., and began her career in ceramics. She studied with Viola Frey at the California College of the Arts, where she met glass artist Marvin Lipofsky, who became her lifelong friend and mentor, leading her to become a teaching assistant to Lipofsky and Fritz Dreisbach at Dale Chihuly’s Pilchuck Glass School.
Embroli is an internationally renowned multimedia artist who began making things in his father’s basement workshop as a child and at age 72 has never lost his passion for the magical adventure of creation.
He studied art and science at the State University of New York through graduate school. His work is in countless private and corporate collections and has been exhibited in major public, private and university museum exhibitions around the world.
This is a stunning installation of painstakingly built sculpture that deserves a leisurely visit in a quiet and peaceful Northeast Heights gallery. Two thumbs up.