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Visual arts review | thru Jan. 11

I don"t know whether or not Nancy Morgan-Barnes would call herself a surrealist. But the comparison is inescapable. The Bloomington-based artist, whose solo exhibition, Self-Portraits, closes out the calendar year at Ruschman Gallery, employs a number of personal symbols in her naturalist-style paintings.

"Juggling Oranges" by Nancy Morgan-Barnes, currently on exhibit at Ruschman Gallery

We can relate to Morgan-Barnes" scenes though, even if the quirky juxtaposition of a red ribbon and some keys placed outside a window pane (instead of being seen inside it) is somewhat puzzling. Is the artist inviting us to come and play? There is a wry sense of humor to her placement of images in some instances, including the image of herself. But the invitation is not necessarily literal. She is suggested in a painting of her studio, in a series of portraits of her husband in various get-ups (from pirate to sea captain). She is literally viewed as the subject of a makeover, depicted in a series of small paintings of the artist"s hair and face being teased and masked into a final "look" complete with green eyeshadow and fluffy hair. The artist invites us in, and what we find is at once puzzling and accessible. The Surrealists acknowledged that the inner world had significant bearing on the outer one, and if we were to freely paint what we saw inside, via our dreams, we would find a fuller, richer meaning. "There is a desire to find, over and beyond appearances, a truer reality, a kind of synthesis of the exterior world and of the interior model," recalled Patrick Waldberg in the preface to Surrealism (Oxford University Press) more than 35 years ago. "The awareness of this "surreality" is caused most frequently by the sense of bewilderment." Human figures and objects, then, are unexpected companions on the canvas when no longer depicted performing their natural functions. Morgan-Barnes could be said to adhere to the above principles - if by accident. Certainly, her paintings hint at meaning but don"t drive it home. In "Juggling Oranges," the most fantastical of the lot, the aforementioned window is adorned with an empty food can of flowers perched on its ledge, a hammer entwined in white-dotted red string (or is it a shoelace?), some keys, a feather and a snapshot. Hovering about are bees, butterflies and a dragonfly. A cockroach is poised to enter the partially opened window. The glass itself is opaque, and yet the face of a woman can be discerned just barely inside. The glass also reflects other houses nearby. What meaning do these objects contain for the artist? Do they also contain meaning for us? Is this important? Art that connects is both personal and universal. Morgan-Barnes takes us to both places - sometimes more successfully than others. She calls to mind the best poets, who also take us to the world of symbolic meaning via image; that image can also be contained in a narrative. Morgan-Barnes" scenes are painted realistically. While we are not likely to happen upon sea crabs perched on a mantelpiece, certainly they could be placed there. But look a little more closely and you are likely to find the artist"s reflection, or at least her suggestion; here, her face can be seen in a cockeyed mirror on the same mantelpiece. But what to make of the fire that is escaping from the fireplace? The smoke is rising and this, a recurring theme, is perhaps significant. Suggestions of military maneuvers, the scene of an accident, a storm cloud hovering above a baseball game; all of these suggest the artist"s relationship to calamity. These are appropriate for the self-portrait - who among us does not have such darkness in our personal story? Nancy Morgan-Barnes: Self-Portraits is on view at Ruschman Art Gallery, at 10th and Alabama streets downtown, through Jan. 11. Call 634-3114 for hours and information, or visit www.ruschmangallery.com.

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