'Salon Debris' Exhibit Highlights Found Object Assemblages

SALISBURY, MD---The art of assemblage takes the spotlight during the exhibit “Salon Debris: Artists of the Found Object” at Salisbury University’s Atrium Gallery Wednesday-Friday, September 8-October 1. An opening reception is 5-7 p.m. Friday, September 10. “Salon Debris” is the result of a collaboration among nine Eastern Shore artists who share an appreciation of the aesthetic and emotional impact possible in combinations of seemingly unrelated objects. The artist’s juxtaposition of such objects can produce results much greater than the sum of their often humble parts: everything from wing nuts and scrap metal to circuit boards and coins. Artists exhibiting in the show include: Helaine White, Greg VandeVisser, Betty Sur, Dede Ritner, Charles Palmer, Barbara Lucke, Bob La Force, Allen Kramer and Dotti Helmert. Palmer, former director of the Rehoboth Art League in Rehoboth Beach, DE, divides his time between art and his company, Palmer Construction of Mt. Washington, MD. A graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art, he has been an editorial page artist for The Baltimore Sun. His works appear in several national collections, including those owned by Gloria Vanderbilt and Barbara Streisand. He has exhibited in galleries predominately in the Baltimore-Washington area and has earned The Baltimore Museum’s Barenburg Prize among others. He resides in Millville, DE. Kramer, an honors graduate of the Cornell University College of Architecture, has earned several design awards, including those from the American Institute of Architects and Architectural Record. The work of his company, Kramer & Kramer Architects, has appeared in The New York Times, Architectural Forum, Architectural Record and three books on contemporary architecture, among others. La Force graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in textile design, leading to a 37-year career with chemical fiber producers Du Pont and Celanese, identifying emerging fashion trends before his retirement on the Eastern Shore. He serves on the Academy Art Museum Board of Trustees and is a member of the local artists’ association Group Ten. Lucke, an artist and teacher with more than 50 years’ experience, has exhibited in Japan and throughout the United States. A former Oxford, MD, resident, she maintains a studio in central Florida and is establishing a second in Easton. Born and raised in New York, White worked as a magazine editor before moving in 1958 to Talbot County, where she owned and operated a real estate office in Easton, MD. Thought possessing no formal background in art, she was drawn to the assemblage medium, driven by a dislike of waste. VandeVisser is the founder of the IdeaWorks graphic arts studio in Cambridge, MD. He honed his art skills under John Cleary at Salisbury University. Sur began creating assemblages following her move to Salisbury in 1993. A student of the Corcoran School of Art, she was a graphic designer at Smithsonian Institution Press for 15 years, specializing in art catalogs for the National Museum of American Art, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and other Smithsonian holdings. She also served as secretary for the American Institute of Graphic Art, Washington, D.C., chapter. Ritner studied fine art at Skidmore College and the University of Pittsburgh, teaching pottery at the School for the Deaf in Pittsburgh for 10 years. After moving to Claiborne, MD, in 1995, she shifted her focus to photography and found-object pieces, mostly working with water-worn wood and items found along the beach. Heimert attended Moore College of Art, also as a textile design major, living in the Baltimore area prior to moving to the Eastern Shore. He developed an interest in assemblage using found metal and wood and opened the Bellevue Store Gallery, focusing on artworks from the 20th century. The Atrium Gallery is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays. Sponsored by the University Galleries, the exhibit and reception are free and the public is invited. For information call 410-548-2547 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.