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Art Reviews; Students, Teachers and Mentors

Strengthening the Spine

Lo River Arts Gallery, 530 Main Street, Beacon, (845)831-7660, through April 10.

The current show at Lo River Arts Gallery features the paintings and wall installations of Emily Orling, the artist in her 20's whose wall installations, in particular, are profoundly influenced by her recent trip to Africa and Europe. Visitors will notice that the objects she gathers in her travels do feel foreign. Colors, shapes, purposes are all a tiny bit different from what one encounters here, making the installation's already quizzical narrative that much more elusive.

Ms. Orling's large paintings on canvas have a more philosophical feel. They are, for the most part, about finding one's center. She does this by combining unrelated elements in a Surreal way. In ''Infinite Possibility'' (2003), we see a gymnast/swimmer doing a handstand with two placid pink pigs draped across his feet.

 In ''Telling the Truth'' (2004), we see a girl in a bathing suit, with a mountain goat balanced on her head.

 Then there are the miniature portraits. On bars of soap, inside blue sponges or attached to a cafeteria-type tray, these postage-stamp-sized faces somehow ground everything, keeping this otherwise curiously installed show a little more unified.

Published: 03 - 28 - 2004 , Late Edition - Final , Section 14WC , Column 1 , Page 8.

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