The Brooklyn Papers / Greg Mango

We are family: Among the artworks on display as part of "Tradition/Nontradition: Bridging the Gap" at St. Francis College is Edna Diolata's painting "Capulana Frieze."

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It’s back-to-school time, but for those of us who have been out of school for a few years, St. Francis College is offering an invitation to a delightful free learning experience at its Brooklyn Heights campus.

Accept their invite to see "Tradition/Nontradition: Bridging the Gap," a group exhibition of paintings, etchings and works on paper by five artists at the college’s Callahan Center, now through Sept. 30.

The concept of "Bridging the Gap," originated by curator and artist Dorcas Gelabert, was to reference artistic traditions - portraiture, landscape and still life - and acknowledge that there’s still a lot of life in those old war horses.

In her introduction to the show, author Yvette Pennacchia explains, "The modern avant-garde impulse toward a ’break’ with the historical past, which is the artistic legacy of the 20th century, consists in part of a critique of some humanist ideas, which over time degenerated into noxious and even dangerous propositions. The once noble vision of the human being’s dignity and place in nature deteriorated into the aggrandizement of the individual.

"In their work, all five artists try to bridge the gap between the lessons of modernity and post-modernity and those discarded concerns of traditional art making that endure."

All five artists - Gelabert, Diane Conlon, Edna Diolata, Roberta Louise and Yeachin Tsai - live and work in Brooklyn and have completed an aspect of their formal artistic training in the borough but employ very different, yet effective, styles in their work.

Many of Diolata’s canvases are vibrant, two-dimensional studies of the shape of women and colors of their apparel.

In 1998, she traveled to Mozambique where she lived for two-and-a-half years. The painter has an eye for effortlessly rendering the regal bearing of African women carrying vessels on their heads and gathering in conversation. Her figures are faceless parts of a larger community, a community without men.

When she deviates from her successful formula - as in "Queendance," a 36-inch by 48-inch painting depicting a woman in the foreground moving and grooving in her orange dress and turban while androgynous figures akin to Keith Haring figures also give themselves over to dance - her paintbrush still dazzles the eye. The composition of undulating figures thrums with joy.

Born in Taiwan, Tsai embellishes traditional forms such as Chinese brush painting and calligraphy by creating etchings awash in color. She also paints minimalist landscapes on silk and paper. Her works are careful, symbolic meditations on natural phenomena such as meteor showers or mountains.

Gelabert’s works on paper are full of unbridled emotion, so it makes sense that her large compositions (71 inches by 48 inches, and larger) are too big and full of life and anguish to be contained by frames. Simply titled "Love I, II and III" the trio are scattered throughout the exhibit. In "Love II" the power of human touch is powerfully represented in the awkward but ecstatic bend of an arm triggered by such a connection.

It’s interesting to note that the starting point of Gelabert’s work is her own body; her penciled body tracings make up the basic structure of the images. The Cuban-born artist’s layered compositions seem to move, seemingly revealing the history of what came before. In "Love III," arms that let a figure slip away, arms that no longer embrace are discernible beneath a wash of white paint.

Roberta Louise’s still life paintings seem to meditate on the beauty rampant in nature and that beauty’s containment, such as her "King Proteus" flower in a vase. But "flower" is not a powerful enough noun for this sharp-petal plant with its massive head that seems to yearn to be free of its vase. It’s curving, rippling leaves, reflective container and base of wrinkled paper are all evidence of the Massachusetts native’s mastery of technique.

Louise’s vibrant "The Opening Reception" is another show stopper. The painting is a close examination of a lush floral landscape, purple-red blooms bursting open against a dense thicket of green stems. It could be inspired by Georgia O’Keeffe’s floral studies, but Louise’s work seems more wild and tropical.

Conlon says in her artist statement that she is equally interested in abstract and figurative art, but I found her painting, "Head," to be a powerful statement in favor of figurative art. The woman’s face fills the 12-inch by 15-inch canvas, with a gaze that stubbornly refuses to meet the viewer’s. Conlon’s accomplished portrait of a determined woman playfully manipulates color and light.

Conlon’s "Heart II," a pulpy, mossy mass attached to chicken wire, also attracted attention at the exhibit. The technique may seem naïve, but it has a richness of texture and color - a dramatic yellow, swirling brushstroke draws the viewers into its core.

In "Tradition/Nontradition: Bridging the Gap" the curator has accomplished her goal. The exhibit is brimming with provocative, still relevant meditations on the mysteries of nature, women in art, beauty and even the role of art in our community of Brooklyn today.

"Tradition/Nontradition: Bridging the Gap" will be on display at the Callahan Center at St. Francis College (180 Remsen St. between Court and Clinton streets in Brooklyn Heights) through Sept. 30. The opening reception will be Sept. 5, from 5 pm to 7:30 pm. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9 am-4 pm, and Saturday, 10 am-3 pm. The exhibit and reception are free of charge. For more information, call (718) 489-5272.

©2003 Community Newspaper Group