A divine melding of fashion and art - Reading Eagle









Courtesy of Ron Schira


Allison Shannon and Ed Terrell with their artwork at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts.






For an exhibit titled "The Gods and Goddesses," fashion and art share space in the GoggleWorks Schmidt Gallery with paintings by Ed Terrell, and designer dresses, prints and jewelry by Allison Shannon. The show continues through Saturday.

Terrell is the director of the African-American Coalition of Reading, and for a number of years has been working on a series of 40-inch-tall acrylics depicting traditional images of Hindu deities. These works are executed in brilliant, multicolored hues and meticulously rendered. A few of these are included.


Newer acrylic pieces by him display a splashy penchant for an abstract-expressive style. Slightly larger and horizontally composed, they echo the all-over-drip gestures of Jackson Pollock, albeit with much more extravagant contrasts in color. Two of the paintings combine the dual styles to illustrate a golden silhouette of a cross-legged Buddha atop the all-over-drip patterns. "Parjanya" is one such example.


Terrell is having a very busy season as a few of his works are being shown in the café area of the first floor. He is also the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts "Our Town" Grant to beautify an inner-city park, in this case The Garden of Good Thoughts in the 6th Ward, as a part of the long-term Ricktown initiative for urban redevelopment.


Recently completed, the installation is at the corner of Schuylkill Avenue and Walnut Street and is titled "Sacred Cow, Sacred Spaces, Peaceful Places." It consists of a life-size Fiberglas cow and two park benches in a groomed garden setting. Each is hand-painted with positive slogans and affirmations.


More like a boutique than an art exhibit, Shannon's installation features a group of mannequins adorned with her dresses, along with a rack of women's garments in the center space of the gallery. To the side, a wall of collaged prints are displayed, and a selection of jewelry pendants are situated on a small stand.


The clothing is dyed and stamped by hand with squared "chops" that are reminiscent of Chinese ink symbols and carved woodblock impressions. These same impressions, along with her drawings and some collage, are blotted on sheets of paper, framed and hung on a separate wall. Abstract with written text, they own titles such as "Divine Compassion" and "Dreaming of the Universe," and are intimate in scale.


A placard with a short statement says that the artists create their art out of the "cosmic energies that surround the abstract universe." Their art, it continues, "represents an eclectic embodiment of the eccentric world we all share. Whether the medium is paint or textile, both artists feel that what one sees and wears plays an impact on a person's life. Art that is created with positive energy will have a positive impact on the environment in which that art is viewed or experienced."


For myself, I did not experience any cosmic revelations, but that just may be me. The artwork and artists complement each other and carry a good message, which is relaxed, friendly and a pleasure to browse.


Contact Ron Schira: life@readingeagle.com.






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