Gary Birch, Lincoln Castricone, Michael Jones, Richard Lapedes, Brian Millar 

Sculpture that was created from an artist’s love of medieval altar pieces, panoramic photography of grand landscapes infused into metal, an artist who worked in a steel mill and recognized the industrial aesthetic, a ceramic artist who sets a table for lovers and a sculptor who enters the creative world with hope and joy by manipulating 3-dimensional materials.

5 Artists-1 painter. 1 photographer, 1 ceramic artist, 1 sculptor, 1 mixed media artist

Gary Birch

“I worked in a steel mill in Middletown Ohio but I liked to make things. After work I experimented with craft with some success and left the mill.
Later I tried painting and recognized the industrial aesthetic, particularly the nature/ industry interface as an influence. 
Then I tried chance and experiment as sources and produced a body of work in that manner.
Now I feel the draw of the steel mill again.”

Lincoln Castricone

Since he has adopted digital photography, Castricone has developed a technique for doing wide format, high resolution panoramic photography for landscape work. Most of his images are made up of multiple digital frames stitched together in a computer. Almost all his black and white images are shot in infrared then converted to black and white.

“Landscape never bores me. When it is grand I am called beyond myself. For me a good landscape rendering evokes a sense a familiarity and mystery.”

Michael Jones

Michael Jones makes stoneware for the design and restaurant trades.  His work ranges from tabletop to design accent pieces. His design motifs are informed by Kuba textile patterns to motifs in contemporary painting and sculpture.
The glazes he uses are from a palette grounded in Japanese tea ceremony sensibility.
In this exhibition, Jones will be showing two large “sentry” vases and a sculptural ikebana vase.

Richard Lapedes

“Born in Dayton, I began making 2 and 3 dimensional objects in 3^rd grade.

Making sculpture is compelling for me because I’ve always found it easiest to enter the creative world with hope and joy by manipulating 3-dimensional materials. I’m inspired by the sensual appeal of juxtaposing unlike materials.”

“Tango”,  “Jazz” and  “Post Extinction Flora Model, Lapedes 3 pieces, that are in this show, are largely made from industrial Kraft paper tubes. The Kraft paper in the tubes is recycled. Wood and paint complete each piece and their bases. “Post Extinction Flora Model” also includes faux electronics.

Brian Millar

“I come from a family of teachers, engineers, and artists so it’s unavoidable to NOT be an artist. The opportunity to take material and shape it into forms that reveal images I’ve not known, is a satisfying and gratifying experience.”

“Affliction Enshrined”, my sculptural piece, comes from my interest in medieval altar pieces. Which for me comprise an array of elements, 3-dimensional and 2-dimensional as well as functionality (illustrating religious events), in the turning of panels, and a variety of different angles in which a 2-dimensional object can be viewed.”