Sunday, September 30, 2007

Spark Studios Show

Posted by Nick Smith on Sun, Sep 30, 2007 at 12:52 PM

Danny McSweeney, owner of Spark Studios and Gallery on Hagood, is devoting his space to his old mate Waseem Touma for Ipseity through Oct. 5. The two sculptors met at Kansas City Art Institute and McSweeney’s been looking for an excuse to show his work ever since. Touma’s art is so ambitious and twisted that I’m willing to turn a blind eye to this abject favoritism.

 

Touma could be seen as the Stephen King of contemporary ceramic sculpture – he’s a nice guy, he’s prolific and his deconstruction of the mysteries of nature’s guts and bones was re-energized by a nasty car accident a few years ago. But the analogy stops there. There’s no horror in his work. He uses a preponderance of porcelain to create delicate bony structures that rise from the floor or hang from the ceiling. He also paints, draws and makes small stoneware sculptures. “Aquatic Plant” and “Internal Similarities” wouldn’t look amiss in the ocean depths, attracting sea life with their delicate, flowing shapes.

 

“Expansion” is the largest piece. With a trunk and limbs, it looks like a suspended elephant’s skeleton complete with ribcage. In other sculptures, Touma adds blood red tool dip to the white porcelain slip, increasing the organic feel of the whole show. Like King, Touma has bounced back from his terrible accident in a memorable way.

Topics: Visual Arts
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Sal, what about West Ashley? I live on JI, but work in West Ashley. We need your help with lunch. A Mustard Seed or Boulevard Diner would do. So would a new creation, I'm sure.

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Posted by Lowcountry Moose on March 14, 2008 at 10:31 AM

"old Locklear's"??!! when did that happen? i need to pay closer attention when i drive by

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Posted by imabug on March 14, 2008 at 2:20 PM

Janet and I probably wind up at Boulevard all hungry and tired and strung out at least once a week. It means driving over to Mt.P, but it's worth it. Now we need one downtown. North of the Crosstown. In my neighborhood. Hint, hint...

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Posted by Dan on March 15, 2008 at 6:38 PM

One in North Charleston would be real welcome too.

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Posted by Eyebee on June 1, 2008 at 8:58 PM

Agree with Lowcountry Moose! West Ashley needs a reasonably priced restaurant with home cooked meals. Boulevard Diner is my favorite restaurant for quality,price and variety. Best bang for your buck!

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Posted by BD regular on February 16, 2009 at 5:27 PM
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