LARRY KAGAN Born in a German refugee camp, Kagan moved to Israel at age 5 and then to the 
		Bronx at age 12, After high school, he went to RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) to become an 
		aeronautical engineer, but discovered he was "more of an individualist" and found himself fulfilling 
		what it seems was his original destiny ("I was known in the family as 'the kid who could draw' ") by 
		passing through SUNYA's Masters in Studio Art program and landing a job in 1972 as an instructor 
		of sculpture at RPl, where he has worked ever since. How appropriate that one who's life was directly 
		shaped so early by world-scale historical forces should be centrally concerned with "preserving choice 
		in an environment where choice is very limited."
		If all this sounds formidable, prospective viewers ought not be intimidated. In fact, far from ponderous 
		conceptual gravity, the prevailing mood of Kagan's welded scrap metal sculpture is light, humorous 
		and playful. His generic pictures- landscapes, still lifes, window scenes- contained within an endlessly 
		inventive variety of welded junk-metal frames, offer the delightful charm of an inspired folk art and the 
		ironically cool wit of Pop-Modernism.

		Artist's Statement
		"For most of us, shadows occupy the border of consciousness; the area where the real gives way to 
		the imagined, where ghosts and half remembered visions flourish.
		My interest in shadows lies in their ability to conjure up an added spatial dimension. They help clarify 
		the ambiguities, which are inherent in visual perception, and they point to the crucial rule which light 
		plays in determining how we interpret events in the world around us. Most importantly, letting shadows 
		take over the primary narrative role helps me open up the question of what is real."
		
		Larry Kagan, 1998

		For the work in this exhibition I have brought together various new collections of four sheets of paper, 
		combining them in pinwheels to create Tetrads, a format which I have been developing for 5 years now.  
		The wide range of repeating designs used in this work are drawn from the vast resource of world cultures, 
		both ancient and modern.  These designs and their placement within the Tetrads are chosen for their power 
		and for the shear beauty of the compositions.  Playing on the border between energy and order*, these are
		 works of art that could release their hold on themselves at any second and suddenly construct themselves 
		again in dynamic new forms.
		The result is objects that I hope will be an inspiration to the viewer.  I want the work to be uplifting.  I want it to 
		have a sense of endless possibilities, of hope and of transcendence, a creative process with no end in sight.  
		I want the viewer of these Tetrads to experience the endless possibilities encoded within this work and the 
		joy that I experienced in ferreting out and developing a few of these possibilities.

		Darrell Nettles
		New York City
		November 30, 1999

		*Donald Kuspit, Darrell Nettles - The Endless Line, OKHarris Gallery, 1998

	
		"My work moves along the lines of constructivism, infusing organic industrial weight with the pure and refined 
		synergy of connection, tension, harmony and balance found in the structural materials of industry and 
		architecture with a focus on symmetrical, pure and direct abstraction, even biomorphic. If there is a singular 
		theme, it is of the "ghost in the machine."


		Born in France in 1960. Eric Jean-Marie was schooled in technical metalwork with a focus on Asian arts and 
		antiques. Inspired by a tour throughout Asia and intensive martial arts study, his early works embrace Zen 
		tenets of minimalism and symmetry.

		In perhaps Jean-Marie's "second wave", he arrived in New York in 1988. While preserving the Zen motif of 
		energy and release, weight and mass replaced the loftier mural structures of his former pieces. The new 
		series was recently inspiration and source material for a feature film-NICK AND JANE- released in 
		November 1997. The central character, a metal sculptor, was partially based on the works of Jean-Marie. 
		His actual studio and sculptures featured as the backdrop for the film.

		Jean-Marie has also designed a line of functional sculpture related to his industrial structural style. Original 
		pieces from the collection have been acquired by La Guardia Airport and Manhattan venues such as The 
		Room, The Otheroom, Fat Boy Saloon, Primal Light Studio, K Lounge, in addition to several private 
		collections.

		Eric Jean-Marie, 2000
          

		In Search of the Corn Queen

		When I moved to New York City from Minneapolis in 1988 I started thinking a lot about the differences 
		between the two places and remembering what it was like growing up in the Midwest. I remembered the feel 
		of the sun on my back on those long days of summer spent at the lake catching frogs and swimming. 
		I remembered the smell of the rows upon endless rows of ripening corn that was always knee high by the 
		fourth of July. I remembered the State Fair, corn dogs, mini doughnuts and ten cents a glass milk. Because 
		of these memories I decided to go back and photograph. I wanted to capture a sense of the people and 
		place that I remembered from growing up. So I spent three summers driving through 15 states photographing 
		county fairs, rodeos and pow wows in small rural communities in the Midwest.The resulting work was 
		published in book form by the National Museum of American Art: Smithsonian Institution in 1994.

		Greta Pratt, 2000

	
		Work to be shown will be a conceptual documentation of a survey of renowned chefs regarding their art 
		preferences. They were asked, "If a world famous artist, from the past or present, dined at your establishment, 
		whom would you like the artist to be, and what would you serve this illustrious personage? Why?"

		Don Celender