Inside Art with Michael Rose - World’s Fair Gallery Highlights Cyanotypes, Ceramics, and Glass

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Michael Rose, Art Contributor

 

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PHOTO: Michael Rose

 

Providence’s World’s Fair Gallery has rightly gained a reputation as a great space to see intimate and creatively assembled exhibitions. The venue’s current show, As Above, So Below, offers the wonderful variety and quality that viewers have come to expect. Accessible via appointment through August 26, 2022, at the space on Broadway, the show highlights beautiful and complementary work by three artists.

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The exhibition includes an enticing array of media. On the walls, bright and lively cyanotypes by Brett Day Windham are on view. Paired with these two-dimensional creations, visitors will find earthenware ceramics by Tammy Kim and glasswork by Pierre Bowring of Bow GlassWorks. Kim’s ceramics contribute an earthy element and Bowring’s glass is full of painterly finesse. All of these artists are consummate and dedicated craftspeople.

 

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PHOTO: Michael Rose

 

As Above, So Below opened with a reception on June 24 and for the rest of its run, visitors can book their own private viewing with gallery owner Willa Van Nostrand. Art enthusiasts can book their visit by emailing the gallery at [email protected], or by direct messaging the gallery on Instagram via @worldsfairgallery. This unique format affords viewers the opportunity to see a great show on their own terms and schedule. Van Nostrand is an accommodating and enthusiastic host and the show is well worth seeing. Ample free street parking is one of the bonuses of World’s Fair’s Broadway location.

Brett Day Windham’s cyanotypes show off both an expertise in a tricky medium as well as a sense of invention and fun. To create them, Windham uses chemicals to make paper light sensitive, then places collected botanical elements on the surface and exposes it to light. This results in rich swaths of blue that leave white silhouettes of flowers and plants. Windham then journeys back into her images and enhances them with watercolor and pen. The work is reminiscent of Anna Atkins, a giant of early photography. Through her process though, Windham has customized her cyanotypes to her own aesthetic.

 

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PHOTO: Michael Rose

 

Describing her work and process, Windham says, “All my work begins with the act of collecting, and then composing with color. When my son was an infant I wasn’t able to make large collection-based sculptures and installations, so I switched to works on paper. Cyanotype is something I’ve always loved, and it allowed me to explore the idea of object-less collections. I printed the first batch through the nursery window. Inspired by hand-tinted photographs, I began hand painting my prints in vivid color to bring this Victorian process into today. There’s a joy that radiates through me when I am working on them, and I hope it shows.”

As is tradition at World’s Fair, the two-dimensional work is expertly joined by three-dimensional pieces that meld form and function. For this show, Windham is accompanied by ceramic artist Tammy Kim and glassmaker Pierre Bowring.

 

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PHOTO: Michael Rose

 

Kim was raised in California and Virginia, but considers Rhode Island her forever home. She earned an MFA in sculpture and pairs her ceramic practice with work as an astrologist and her position as Education Coordinator for Farmacy Herbs in Providence. Her multi-faceted background brings much to Kim’s ceramic work, enhancing her art and life simultaneously. On Thursday, July 28 from 6-8pm Kim will host an astrology workshop in conjunction with the exhibition, affording visitors the opportunity to engage. To register, guests can email [email protected].

 

Bowring is the artist behind Bow GlassWorks and is also featured throughout the space. First exposed to glassblowing as a student at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2004, Bowring quickly took to the artform and uses it to create elegant and useful objects for the home. His contributions to the exhibition are beautiful for their raw simplicity, minimalist sensibility, and sensitive washy colors.

 

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PHOTO: Michael Rose

 

When asked about the connections between her work and her co-exhibitors, cyanotype artist Windham is enthusiastic. She says, “For this exhibition, Willa and I conjured up the idea of roots to blooms, encompassing the earth and the plant and the sky. Tammy Kim’s worked earthenware is so connected to the ground and the soil, and growing is an essential part of her practice as an herbalist. Pierre Bowring’s effortless glass vessels echo my use of watercolor and remain so full of air and light. There is a real connection among us.”

The grouping of these three artists results in yet another well-considered show at World’s Fair Gallery. The exhibitors bring three unique perspectives to the table, and offer works that are often affordable in addition to being beautiful.

 

As Above, So Below is on view at World’s Fair Gallery through August 26, 2022. World’s Fair is located at 268 Broadway in Providence and is accessible by appointment. To schedule your visit, email [email protected].

Michael Rose is a multi-talented fine art professional based in Southern New England. Since 2014 he has served as the gallery manager at the historic Providence Art Club, one of the nation’s oldest arts organizations. Through his current freelance work he advises collectors and artists, provides appraisal services, teaches, and completes curatorial projects.

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