From: Portland Press Herald Maine Sunday Times

KANY DOES RIGHT BY MCA

‘The renewed vitality of the Maine Crafts Association is suggested in the show “MCA at Daniel Kany Gallery.”

Presenting crafts in the form of an exhibition of art is not an easy exercise. The impulse to give exposure to as many artists as you can without turning the place into a small department store.

If it gets crowded, a show looses focus, and no one is well-served. It’s difficult to shift from, say, large wall hangings to items of jewelry and back again and maintain your concentration. And the changes from metal to glass to fiber or wood or clay keep you off balance.

I say all this to point out how well MCA has fared in this event. In a relatively small space, a significant number of contemporary Maine craft artists are given the opportunity to put a foot forward.

Items that struck me as particularly interesting include a birds-eye maple jewelry cabinet by Geoffrey Warner. It blends arches, concavities and a complexity of small drawers into a remarkably strong form for a small object. As a jewelry cabinet it’s not that small, but that’s beside the point. Like a piece by the legendary cabinetmaker James Krenov, the idea is to produce a good object. That it might be a bit out of scale for the use isn’t really that important.

The fiber and mixed-media wall hangings by Gabriella D’Italia have the geometric allure and coloration of West African weavings. One close inspection, their components are entirely Western, and therein lies the magic.

I also praise Ingrid Bathe’s porcelain tumblers for their soft look but substantial heft. It’s as though they were finely thrown then crumbled and patted back into shape, and they are irresistible.

I have written before and often of both Ken Keoughan and Lynn Duryea’s work. There are good examples of each in the show, and I note the approachableness of the scale of Duryea’s pieces.’