“Progresses,” a three-woman exhibit on view at Saratoga Arts, seems sparse at first glance but a closer look proves otherwise.
Sculptures by Mia Westerlund Roosen and Caroline Ramersdorfer, both presented in the main gallery, evoke a new landscape of sorts. Ramersdorfer, whose studio is in Wells, exhibits the delicate, crystalline nature of marble, creating icy and perhaps otherworldly figures.
Roosen works with felt treated with resin to create these twisted sculptures, which are industrial, gray in color but have the movement of something plucked from a wild and organic landscape.
Works on paper by Dorothy Dehner hang in the corridor of the gallery. Dehner (1901-1994), who lived in Bolton Landing for much of her life, worked in a variety of media and was best known for her sculptures. The etchings and oil paintings on view, which date back to the 1950s, offer a compelling look at the artist’s early career.
In the main gallery, there are two anchor pieces in the exhibit, one by Ramersdorfer and the other by Roosen.
The latter looms large, exceeding the height of most spectators. Called “Karmelite II,” one side appears as a smooth, concrete-looking column, while the other has twisted strips of the same material unfolding from the center. The piece plays with the expectations of viewers of the materials used; many may guess that it is made of clay or wood, although what lies beneath the resin is felt.
Small-scale works dot the space around the sculpture and toy with similar visual themes. One, titled “Hoosick Falls” features curls cascading down from a single slender column. Another appears as a messy cloud of criss-crossed strips of resin-coated felt. Roosen’s section of the exhibit also features intricate drawings by the artist, many from a series titled “Imprisonment.”
On the other side of the gallery is “Inner View_Nexus II” by Ramersdorfer, a visceral work that feels at once familiar and foreign. Slender marble columns cut across an opening in a geometric figure. The inner edge of the figure has tiny cuts, echoing the gossamer pattern found on the underside of mushrooms.
Surrounding that work are several drawings and small-scale models that give a glimpse into Ramersdorfer’s process. She starts with light drawings to work through some of the concepts in each piece and then moves on to collage work and then builds models out of wood and then marble. The way the artist’s process is presented in the exhibit is delightful. Locals who have visited Opalka Gallery will also be familiar with a model of Ramersdorfer’s “Inner View_ Nexus-Open” sculpture on display outside the Albany gallery.
In addition to “Progressions,” Saratoga Arts’ Dee Sarno Theater presents “Ageless Dancers,” an exhibit spotlighting the photography of Betti Franceschi. The uplifting show captures iconic dancers in their senior years, their poses elegant and nimble. The artist was inspired by the retired ballerinas at a New York City Ballet party in Paris. As Franceschi states, “the ageless artist in each of these grand courts, and those that followed, must be recorded and honored.” It’s part of a series of exhibitions around Saratoga Springs featuring dance photography this summer, including at the Tang Teaching Museum and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
“Progresses” and “Timeless Dancers” will be on view until August 13. For more information visit saratoga-arts.org.
