Lamp grows brighter

Susan Hodgin and The LAMP Collective
LAMP Fine Art Gallery
Through Oct. 31

Gallery years are like dog years: One year of a dog’s life is akin to the passing of seven. So when LAMP Fine Art Gallery retired from its birth home, Chatham Place, after two years in business, you could say the gallery was ready for high school. Now, LAMP (Local Artists Making Progress) starts a new phase of growth in its new home on Massachusetts Avenue. A great thing for the avenue, which is coming back as the premier gallery destination in the city, and an even better thing for LAMP: The location is clearly a step up for the once-fledgling institution.

'Climbing Roses #1' by Susan Hodgin, currently on view at LAMP

Jennifer Kaye is still on a mission to nurture up-and-coming, and even heretofore obscure, talent. She’s had some hits and also some misses, as any adventurous curator would; but it’s clear the light of LAMP is stronger than ever in its new location, and in terms of its specific mandate.

Compared to the once-scrappy combination of artists and art that hung in the group show format in the former space, the art is now more consistently polished, and still, thankfully, exploratory. In its current exhibitions, Artist of the Month: Susan Hodgin and The LAMP Artist Collective, the co-op-like format displays the work of numerous artists (did I hear the number “32” right?), with one wall devoted to the work of Hodgin. (Some artists are beyond “established”: for instance, pieces by Quincy Owens and Constance Scopelitis are among the offerings.)

It should be said though that the new space has its drawbacks as well as benefits. As for the latter, as mentioned, LAMP is now on the avenue, and thus more accessible to passersby and those already on the prowl for art or the art happening. It’s also a lovely space with much character: high ceilings and a generous-sized foyer with tall windows. But the space itself, not set up to show large amounts of art, only allows for the stacked approach of art-hanging. And yet there’s a certain old-school charm to walls packed with art, literally floor to ceiling. It’s a feast for the eyes, while it takes some time to take it all in.

But in characteristic fashion, Kaye is reluctant to leave anyone out — although she has clearly done some culling, and it shows. Many artists (and individual works) are worth mentioning, but a broad brush approach may be more equitable. From funky to traditionally abstract, there are all points in between, but few conventional expressions. Perhaps that’s Kaye’s greatest strength: selecting the unpredictable, the quirky, the experimental, the challenging. Even though some such expressions are occasionally crude and even unpleasant to look at (there are very few of these here), Kaye often gets it right. To say it’s “contemporary local art” is to advertise it truthfully. And that alone is worth something.

A word about featured artist Susan Hodgin: Her work has been seen in the past year in more than one gallery show (other than LAMP), so there are some recycled works here. For those unfamiliar with her work, you could describe it as careful flowers concealing (or drawing attention to) layers of suggested meaning, through text either written on the canvas or pages of printed text affixed to the surface. Hodgin walks a line between loveliness and obfuscation — perhaps intentionally so. To paint a pretty picture is one thing; but in true LAMP fashion, there has to be something more.

Works by Hodgin and The LAMP Collective at LAMP Fine Art Gallery are on view through Oct. 31 at 719 Massachusetts Ave. Call 624-9803 or visit www.lampfineart.com for more information. Hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 12-7; Friday and Saturday, 12-9; and Sunday, 12-5.