THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 2, 1994 TAG: 9409300238
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
``Alchemy and Explorations,'' an installation of carved and assembled works especially designed by Mark Iwinski for the 1846 Courthouse gallery, will open Friday.
The exhibit, which will be displayed through Nov. 20, will be enhanced with drawings and frescoes.
Iwinski uses bluestone, copper wire, stone, lead, cement, granite, steel, rough-hewn wood architectural fragments and helicopter landing skids in his large, dramatic assemblages. The shapes, in addition to his use of primitive materials, make symbolic suggestions of China, Mesopotamia, the Southwestern United States and Europe. They depict the artist's view of ancient people and civilizations around the world.
Iwinski said the materials relate directly to meaning.
``Materials have characters and powers to be drawn upon,'' he wrote. Thus, copper wire is both an actual and a symbolic conductor; stones compress space and store energy; wood and steel provide tension and structure.''
The artist said his philosophy is depicted in pieces of the exhibit such as nautical compass dividers that were used by Columbus and other explorers to plot their courses and to register the shape of the New World.
``At the same time, the function of the instrument is to separate points on a surface,'' he said. ``A major corollary of Columbus' discovery was the genocide of native people. The responsibility for controlling the effects of the new is a burden we, as human beings, cannot escape.''
Iwinski said he ``creates objects that address connections between the cosmos and the self.''
A two-year member of the fine arts faculty of the College of William and Mary, Iwinski has a bachelor's and master's degree in sculpture from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. He studied painting and drawing in Italy. He worked as a lighting designer for the Milwaukee Art Museum and also assisted sculptor Jackie Winsor in the construction of ``Brick Dome'' for a retrospective exhibition at a Milwaukee museum.
Iwinski was featured at a one-man show in Williamsburg in 1992. That same year, he did a one-man show at the Metropolitan Gallery in Milwaukee and participated in exhibitions at the West Bend Gallery of Fine Arts and the Milwaukee Art Museum.
He currently is working on a commission to design and oversee construction of a sculptural monument in Cudahy, Wisc., incorporating stone work from a 1920s high school building.
Iwinski will give a slide presentation titled ``Alchemy and Exploration'' at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Community Arts Center. The lecture is part of the Museum Mondays series. For information, call 393-8983.
An opening reception for museum members is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday. Iwinski will give a brief lecture beginning at 6:30 p.m. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
``Armillary Sphere,'' a wood sculpture by Mark Iwinski.
by CNB