R-Rated Exhibit Packs Surprisingly Little Punch

As featured in The Detroit Free Press, Sunday, April 4, 1999

By Keri Guten Cohen

The word "naked" sets up expectations. Naked can be sexy, raw, exposed, sad, defeated, exhilarating, titillating. Detroit Contemporary's "Naked" offers a little of all in a show that can safely be rated R.

"Naked" offers work from more than 25 artists, including some Center for Creative Studies students showing for the first time with their mentors. The mix is eclectic and includes painting, sculpture, photography and installations. Individual pieces create excitement, yet as a whole, the show has less punch than one might expect.

Highlights come from Jonathan Shankle's shadowy photograph of a figure's back, George Hriczik's strong painting of his own naked image refracted in mylar, Eric Johnson's emotionally troubled marionette painted on wood, Jason Ellison's large assemblage work of painted wood and car parts, Michael Mikolowski's flesh-toned tangle of human bodies, James Puntigam's brightly painted Styrofoam torso and Maxwell Davis' cast glass blocks that reveal areas of the human body when viewed from above.

Painter Peter Williams, who teaches at Wayne State University, offers strong drawings from his "Madrid Diary" series that are personal self-portraits.

A surprise comes from Pablo Davis, a veteran painter who worked with Diego Rivera on his mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts. He brought over two large display boards filled with drawings of naked figures, some dated 1937. They shouldn't be missed.