by Claire Fern

HARDWICK—The entrance to the Compost exhibition space seems like an obstacle course at first, but it really is easy to enter the space from the front and it is worth it! Just follow the path inside the  orange mesh fence, knock on the door and enter.

The current exhibition of recent art work by Marie LaPré Grabon at the Compost Gallery is delightful and thought provoking at the same time. LaPré Grabon is an artist I admire for many reasons. She works hard and grows artistically and personally each time she puts a line on paper. She is a people and nature person and the art she shares with us is available to most of us both visually and emotionally.

There are emotional distinctions between the works on display, but the materials she uses flow into all the work in a variety of ways. The “Kitchen Goddess” and her symbolic egg shapes reappear in the new work, but in a more solid and grounded form than the ones shown in the last exhibit. The birds and eggs hidden in nests and boxes “explore death infertility, and destruction,” LaPré Grabon states. “The nests are frail and torn and will never sustain life.”

Those pieces tell a personal story that affects the viewer without even knowing details of the experience. It is easy to feel the solidity and emotion the artist shares through her art.

LaPré Grabon explains some of the symbolism she uses in her artist’s statement, which each visitor should read. The threads and lines she uses in her art work can be viewed as purely decorative or a means of connection between the work on view. I
see them as both.

“The Thread That Binds” is a three dimensional piece that uses poured paraffin for the standing goddess shapes and binds them with red shiny thread and sequins. In many of the series of the goddess, with symbiotic eggs either drawn or attached to the bottom of the work, LaPré Grabon uses glass beads mixed with paint or charcoal powder to create subtle reflective light
and shadows. The rough surface of the paper creates further.

“Egg” ( number 12) is a good example of the texture that becomes so effective even in black and white.

In spite of all the deep thoughts we all carry around, LaPré Grabon brings some humor to the exhibit with her miniature “Kitchen Goddesses” positioned in small colorful boxes with suspended balls, eggs, birds, and animal totems fashioned expertly of “Sculpy” and finished to perfection. I loved those small constructions. In fact, I bought one to keep me happy in my “Kitchen.”

The exhibit will be on view until Oct. 15 at the Compost Gallery next to the American Legion Hall on North Main Street. LaPré Grabon will be at the gallery on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. until noon and on Thursdays from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., or she can be called at 472-6908 to arrange an appointment. Otherwise, call Compost at 472-9613 for other times and days when the gallery is open.

Hardwick Gazette — A Delightful and Thought Provoking Exhibit, 1999