DEVORAH SPERBER

On View April 1 – May 31
Special Event: Sat., May 3, 1-3 p.m.
Artist Devorah Sperber in Conversation with Curator Julie Sasse
(Talk begins promptly at 1:30 p.m.)
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Using up to thousands of spools of thread and an optical glass, installation artist Devorah Sperber cleverly combines science and art to create optical illusions of classic paintings. Sperber begins the recreation process by taking digital images of each work and matching spools of thread for the pixel colors. The inverted pieces are suspended from the ceiling, and from a distance, a vague suggestion of an Old Master painting emerges. It is only through the crystal-ball like orb that one can see the intended vision in sharp clarity.

Sperber explains, “I started to use optical devices by chance. I was creating my first thread spool work in a very small studio. I couldn’t see it in its entirety even from the hall. There were binoculars lying around and I flipped them around, using them the wrong way, to see the whole thing. When I did that, the abstract thread spools changed into a realist image again.” These installations have garnered much admiration and attention as the interactive involvement fosters a playfulness not often associated with masterworks.