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REVIEW: Judy Stone's Elevator

Here's an interruption of regular programming to offer a review of an art show I recently attended when I came home to the East Coast few weeks ago. I've always intended to map my thoughts following visits like these, and there seems to be no better time! Plus, in the spirit of feminism, we'll be looking at the works of Judy Stone as assembled in her show, Elevator, at Gallery 505 North in Frederick, MD. I grew up in Western Maryland and, these days, Frederick seems to a youthful bastion of all things up-and-coming; think of it as a tiny, tiny Portland. I'm so excited to see how far its local art scene has come in the past 10 years, and much of that progress comes from small business owners taking risks, like Kelly Phebus's ownership at 505 North. With a flair and passion for the contemporary, Phebus is bringing young voices, like Stone's, to the Frederick art scene and, indeed, Stone's work certainly had me floored. '

Elevator offers a challenging, refreshing, and utterly sophisticated contribution to a local art scene (often) permeated by seasonal plein air watercolor landscapes. A counterpoint, Stone's work is perfectly sleek, with obvious (yet nuanced) nods to the Op Art Movement. At 505 North, Stone's predilection for divine geometry is well-served by the artifactual crumbled brick of the gallery walls; the juxtaposition is a ripe initiation into Stone's visual fortress, an invitation tantalizingly buttressed by neon installations in the storefront windows. On closest examination of these pieces, one begins to see the complexity of Stone's constructions: holographic tape is layered on and over itself to create immense depth, suddenly engendering a life-like quality to her colorscapes. Nose to nose with the glass, the work feels intimate despite it's otherwise formal, even sterile, aspects. Steel framed bunk beds, glitzy dystopian mazes, convex mirrors, concentric circles: her steady hand is that of a Buddhist master building a Mandala in homage to Bentham's Panopticon. Indeed, I sensed a theme of surveillance running through her pieces though, of course, the eye cannot help but detect references to lighter-hearted artists like Bridget Riley, Dr. Seuss, Ernesto Neto, and even to Daft Punk's audio soundscapes accompanying Jeff Bridge's neo-Zen performance in the Tron reboot. The interplay between connectedness and watchfulness is an intriguing and thought-provoking meditation on the nature of freedom; great work all around.

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