Detroit-Area Sculptors Get a Spot to Show Off

As featured in The Detroit Free Press, March 7, 1999

By Keri Guten Cohen

Detroit Contemporary is displaying an impressive gathering of the area's old guard after its strong debut show of emerging artist in November.

For "3d@dc," seasoned sculptor Hugh Timlin, a longtime Center for Creative Studies instructor, assembled 54 three-dimensional works by 21 of metro Detroit's veteran artists. These are sculptors Timlin know; they are teachers, mentors, students and friends.

Many of the artists were inspired to create new works especially for the exhibition. This helps give the show a forward-looking spin rather than the feel of a group retrospective.

Still, most will recognize signature styles represented by Jay Holland's wonderful bronze helmet, Ray Katz's energetic industrial-inspired steel abstractions and Robert Sestok's welded steel tower of perfectly balanced negative and positive space.

Breaking new ground are Robert Bielat, who has traded his heavy, rusted hooks for tranquil configurations made of branches, marbles and shells; Tom Phardel, who leaves his clay work behind to weigh in with two large steel pieces, one a sleek wall piece and another reminiscent of a half-eaten industrial wedding cake; and Rose Dalessandro, who forsakes color this time around to offer strong black female fertility figures cast in plaster.

In the upstairs space, look for Sally Kaplan's well-executed whimsical bronze tabletop sculptures, including one figure that sports a head resembling the Vatican with high-kicking Rockettes atop the cupolas.

Other highlights in this space are Matt Holland's humorous portable sculpture garden in a box, Lois Teicher's maquette for her pioneer bonnet sculpture at Legacy Art Park in northern Michigan, and Carolyn Lautzenheiser's mixed-media altars.

This strong show offers winners at every turn. Other highlights include Sergio DeGiusti's emotional bandaged head and shoulders in white hydrocal, Timlin's well-balanced architectural pieces in stone, Brian Kremer's powerful boxing scenes carved roughly from wood and painted dramatically in black and red, and Sharon Que's finely tuned pieces of cast bronze mixed with wood and stone.

This successful show establishes Detroit Contemporary as a space dedicated to spotlighting the rich talent of Michigan artists, especially those from the metro area.

"Our mission is to give exposure to Detroit artists and to bring them national attention," says owner-director Aaron Timlin. "We have some of the strongest art here in the world. Detroit has always been a creative city, from cars onward."

Timlin plans to continue collaborating with his father, Hugh, who is well-grounded in Detroit's artistic past. Yet it is the younger Timlin's energy, technology savvy and connection with young emerging artists that will make this solitary cultural outpost in the Woodbridge Historic District a space to keep an eye on.