April 26, 2003 – The May show at Bajo el Sol Gallery is of images by St. John photographer Constance Wallace and works by glassblowing artists who have been in residence at Maho Bay Camps this season.
The public is invited to the opening reception on Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the gallery in Mongoose Junction.
Wallace's "people" photographs in the exhibition reflect her inquisitive eye toward the beauty of the human spirit and her appreciation of the nuances of expression and composition. Images she has titled "Mermaids," "Modern Goddess," "Paula" and "Estelle" are visual explorations of the female form that focus on the vulnerability and sensitivity of women, publicity states. A work titled "Jackie Bugs Me" comprises multiple cameos of a woman with a spider.
She also is exhibiting images that offer a profound look into the natural patterns and complexities of the island she has made her home, reflecting the spontaneous symmetry of nature and the elegance of the smaller creatures of St. John.
Hand-blown glass art is produced at the Maho Bay Art Center by a group of artists. This is the first season that the center at Maho Bay Camps has had a rotation of visiting glassblowers every month or so. The artists whose work is represented in the Bajo el Sol show are Jacob Barron from the Caspian Hot Glass Studio in Vermont and Matthew Buechner, who works at Thames Glass in Newport, Rhode Island, a studio he and his wife established.
Barron and Buechner, like the other Maho Bay visiting glass artists, use recycled glass as their raw material — empty beverage bottles collected and crushed at the campground and melted in the Maho Bay kilns for shaping into one-of-a-kind works of art. The Bajo el Sol show "features some of the most original and creative pieces" produced by the two exhibitors, according to a release.
The exhibition will remain in place through the end of May. The gallery is located at the top of the stone steps in Mongoose Junction. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, call 693-7070 or e-mail to Bajo el Sol.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
