Word: A speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolize and communicates a meaning usually without being divisible into smaller units capable of independent use.
Pete Monacelli’s artwork is all over town. He is included in a group show at the Little Theater and his “Searching for Home” series absolutely sings on the walls of Warren Phillip’s new space. At MCC’s Mercer Gallery the stable of artists from the Southwedge’s Wildroot Gallery were reunited in a show that opened last night. Pete’s acrylic, abstract paintings on seven foot hollow core doors, all hinged together in a circle are the energy center of the presentation.
We slowly walked around the piece studying the black and white abstracts. They reminded me of the much smaller drawings Pete showed a few years ago at Joe Bean based on the lyrics of Richie Havens’ “Follow,” intriguing combinations of tight line and loose brush with delicate ink washes.
We waited our turn to get inside the doors where Pete, armed with Anne Sexton’s poem, “Words,” had “transfigured” words of his own choosing. Each door’s word is titled in hand cut letters in font that Pete designed. The drawings, on paper from an old scrapbook and mounted on the doors, communicate meaning.
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