Literary backdrop

There's no organizing theme in the nearby 26-artist exhibition called "Garden Variety." Perhaps that's apparent from its title. But some of the same artists showing at the Muse Gallery are also on view at the Current Affairs Bookstore.

Jason Sherry, for example, has a series with installments at both spaces. The wall label says he uses pig's blood to render people such as Joseph McCarthy (at the Muse) and Dick Cheney (at Current Affairs). Alongside each face is a shooting target card with bullet holes. Given the materials and look of these portraits, we can assume he doesn't feel favorably inclined toward his chosen subjects.

Emily Coonce paints an affecting face in "Shame," its form well defined but her features a bit loose. The expression is mournful, but not melodramatically so.

Where figures end and surroundings begin isn't always easy to tell in Mary Fleener's art. Color is intense in her "Nipples & Tum Tum Series," as it often is in a body of work than spans painting, prints and comic books. These are about awkward moments in sexual attraction and romance, though they are comical more than erotic.

The exhibition meanders through the shop into its back room, which functions like a small gallery during this show. There's nothing elegant about the exhibition's installation, but emerging artists need every venue they can get, and the art adds bite and atmosphere to the bookstore's walls.

Robert L. Pincus:
(619) 293-1831
robert.pincus@uniontrib.com

"Garden Variety"

Through next Thursday

Current Affairs Bookstore,

2936 University Ave., North Park

free; (619) 795-9899

Curated by Bill Pierce