Several opportunities to see a great artist’s work for free coming up:
“Ben Butler: On Growth” will occupy Rhodes College’s Clough-Hansen Gallery from tomorrow, January 21, through February 18 (admission is free!). The artist, a professor at Rhodes, is a sculptor who works almost entirely with wood, and the exhibit is composed of large and small wood sculptures and a collection of drawings.
- Image courtesy John Davis Gallery in Hudson, New York and Zg Gallery in Chicago, Illinois. Photo by Chip Pankey.
Butler says when he began work on the show, he took pieces from large, malleable sculptures and brought them into the gallery space to see how they responded to one another. This process is indicative of his larger body of work: choosing a process and repeating it, often altering it along the way, to form an organic shape composed of smaller pieces. His work is intensely labored, but often springs from a straightforward, uncomplicated concept.
- Image courtesy John Davis Gallery in Hudson, New York and Zg Gallery in Chicago, Illinois. Photo by Chip Pankey.
Butler will give a free lecture tonight at 7 p.m. on his body of work, and the gallery will host an opening reception tomorrow, January 21, from 6-8 p.m., giving you plenty of chances to check out Butler’s work. I’ll bet there are refreshments involved in at least one of these events, if you’re not already convinced.
