Review: The Artist’s Alphabet at Ground Floor Gallery

The Artist’s Alphabet, now on view at

, may be gallery’s best exhibit to date. Curated by

, the juried exhibition shows 10 mid-career artists that have established their own rules within their practice. In her curatorial statement, Hays references artist Charline Von Heyl: "I have an alphabet of tricks, an alphabet of colors." Hays, who is an accomplished painter in her own right, proves to be a capable curator with a great ability to choose works that relate to one another subliminally.

In such an intimate show, it’s difficult to name a stand-out, but two sculptures by Jeremy Jones really impressed me. "The Baby Bubble Bounce" is a glazed stoneware baby head that's been turned into a Fisher-Price Corn Popper. The top of the head is like a viewing area for stargazing, populated with two humanoid faces and one dachshund head. Then there’s "Totem," a four-headed totem pole that’s set on wheels, like a child’s toy. In the context of Jones’ other work — and hell, even out of context — the sculptures balance something playful with something ominous. My guess is that his alphabet is made up of things as strange and wonderful as the 1971 animated film The Point!

’s three collages contain multitudes. Willburn used acrylic and spray enamel on muslin and paper in these little colorful abstractions; they become silhouettes that have multiple narratives, and something about his color choices reflect back to Jones’ themes.

’s crocheted wall piece "No I Don’t Know" rides that line between art and craft like a champ; I’d love to see the gamut of her work — abstract paintings, Metallica embroidery, fabric landscapes — in a solo show.

Also impressive is

’s abstract drawings. Standing a few feet back, it’s hard it believe she only used graphite — parts of "Tlaloc Talks Rain and Flood Forecast" look airbrushed, and others look like they’ve been painted with wide brush strokes. Ortiz makes her own pencils from raw materials, pressing the medium by bringing it into dialogue with abstract painting.

Perhaps the work that affected me most is

’s "Stopping Soon," a wall sculpture so truly ugly that I haven’t been able to shake it since I saw it last week. It’s part of a series about the underuse and overuse of the body and its aesthetic decay. The sculpture, made from insulation foam, panty hose, and acrylic, disturbed me precisely because I am unused to viewing bodies in states of decay and disuse; I’m uncomfortable with the eventual facts of the body, and the series’ title, "Stopping Soon," makes it seem all too inevitable. Kudos to Hough for getting under my skin with this piece.

The Artist’s Alphabet is on view at Ground Floor Gallery + Studios for the rest of the month.