Of Gary Gaffney’s new exhibition of work at Meyers Gallery on the University of Cincinnati campus, local poet Matt Hart writes: “His vision is monstrous, angelic, imperfect yet beautiful, and as a result this work resembles all of us, manifold with moving parts, marked with many questions.” The lustrous gallery space has been made into a cathedral of nature worship, with variously treated driftwood propped into crisscrossing marks along the windows.
Inside, his collages focus on central figures, surrounded by little scraps of information that raise notions of science, philosophy, spirituality, and the truthful potential of art. In Gaffney’s diagrammatic collages, juxtapositions of cosmology, ornithology and human biology surprise and delight. Little galaxies jut out of toenails; the left hand knows not what the right hand is doing, and both seem to be cavorting with sparrows. But these glyphic arrangements are more like launching pads and instruction manuals to better access transcendence. The artwork is what potentially happens if you utilize the collages as poetic guides. The exhibition runs through Friday, with a closing reception on Thursday from 5-7 p.m. Get details and find nearby bars and restaurants here.
