Kirk Mangus Exhibition Opens at Carl Solway Gallery

Kirk Mangus Ceramic Sculpture and Drawing February 26 – July 9, 2016 Carl Solway Gallery is pleased to announce the representation of the Estate of Kirk Mangus. There is one great similarity between making pottery and drawing: practice makes you better. The surface is the point of departure. Pottery is very technical; anything that can go wrong probably will. Getting a good brush mark that is spontaneous and exact is hard enough on a three-dimensional form. The wrong clay, glaze, firing, or temperature can ruin everything. Ink on paper is easy. If you cannot get a black line, it is rather like burning the water when cooking. It is the mental state that commands the moment. Really good paper is infuriating because it is expensive. Handmade paper has personality; it fights with you. I like this. Ordinary paper is submissive. I like this too. Knowing when to stop is important. …..In 2007, when I visited Japan, I was driven up a high mountain to the source of a river. There was a paper-maker living next to clean, cool streams whose fresh water is essential for soaking the mulberry bark to make paper. He was famous for his materials and for the way he colored his paper with local berries, plants, and bark. After a tour, he took me to a messy room filled with scraps, paper, and drawings. These drawings were by his customers. He had been collecting them for sixty years, so there were hundreds, maybe thousands. They were mostly of fish, another of his passions. I bought some paper, did a drawing of a fish, said good-bye, and traveled down the mountain, and had local fish for lunch. That is when I finally let my breath  out. ____Kirk Mangus, CrossCurrents Matthew Kolodziej · Patch Work: New Paintings  continues through March 26, 2016 Upcoming Exhibitions  Tom Marioni · Dry Fresco, Drawing and Bronze   April 1 - July 9, 2016 Opening reception Friday April 1, 5:00 – 8:00 pm Artist performance: TBA Elsa Hansen · R. Kelly thru R.Crumb April 1 - July 9, 2016 Opening reception Friday April 1, 5:00 – 8:00 pm Image: Kirk Mangus · left to right- Nephthys, 2008, stoneware with underglazes, 17.5 x 13.5 x 13.25 inches; Tiger, 2008, stoneware with underglazes, 16.5 x 13.75 x 14.5 inches; Girl with Dog Mask I, 2008, stoneware with underglazes, 18 x 14 x 14 inches. © the Estate of Kirk Mangus Carl Solway Gallery 424 Findlay Street Cincinnati, OH 45214 513.621.0069 http://solwaygallery.com/ Hours: Monday – Friday 9:00 – 5:00 pm Saturday 12:00 – 5:00 pm