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Playing to the Room

Adam Cvijanovic, "Niagara Falls," wall painting, with gallery visitors, flash and latex on Tyvek at UB Center for the Arts.

Three installation pieces on view in Buffalo this spring—two at the University at Buffalo and one at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center—invite an investigation of the art form. Installation art transforms the tools of painting, sculpture and sometimes photography and video into an all-encompassing manipulation of exhibition space. Adam Cvijanovic’s installation in UB’s Lightwell Gallery in the Art Gallery at the Center for the Arts consumes the viewer with the aqua-tinted wonder of Niagara Falls. Similarly, Adam Weekley’s “Hibernation Chamber” at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center allows you to imagine yourself completely surrounded in an idyllic cell for slumber. Kelly Kaczynski’s “Scene from ‘Olympus Manger,’” also at the UB Gallery, affects the viewer physically by its sheer size and occupation of the space.

“Niagara Falls,” an acrylic painting on Tyvek by Adam Cvijanovic, which is installed like wallpaper on three walls in the 35-foot-tall, three-story Lightwell Gallery at UB, is a marvelous use of the space. A lone visitor to the gallery has the sensation of walking in and under the falls, as if riding the Maid of the Mist. One has the feeling (a fraction of the real thing, of course) of being an early American, discovering the grandeur of the falls for the first time. There are probably few paintings in the long tradition of painting this world wonder that can provide the viewer with anywhere near the sense of grandeur that this installation does.

A painting on this scale of Niagara Falls is a feat in itself, and the color and weight of water and mist truly reflect the experience of the real thing. The water is many shades of aqua and the sky behind the falls is a clear ultramarine. There is a sense of shadow cast by the mist, which is a lovely detail to discover. The brushstrokes and handling of the paint do not distract from the overall image, although eventually the accomplishment of making a painting of this size and hanging it in this space overtakes the senses and the experience of the work. Evidence of the sheets of Tyvek and the painting process are revealed as you move closer to the walls, peering up 35 feet.

“Scene from ‘Olympus Manger’” by Kelly Kaczynski is not so enticing, though it does manage to consume the space when you walk into UB’s Art Gallery. A stage-like construction made out of light-colored wood like the floor of the gallery fills the space almost entirely, standing three feet tall. There are two sets of simply constructed stairs up to the platform and two holes at the other end, about 25 feet away. Because the platform fills all but about three feet of walking space on either side, you can’t help but experience it. The holes in the platform entice you to walk up the stairs and look in.

Kelly Kaczynski, "Scene from 'Olympus Manger'" (installation detail), at the UB Art Gallery, Center for the Arts

What is inside is pretty disappointing. “Landscapes” look more like piles of black plaster with plastic bags and sheeting, leaving you to wonder if there was a need for anything in the holes. Once you walk beyond the stage/platform, rows of seats face the platform, suggesting a play on the theatrics of art.

Adam Weekley’s “Hibernation Chamber,” on the other hand, uses all the artifice of theater sets and fine art to create a respite space fit for a king—or maybe a prince, as the feel of the piece is generally young and playful. The “Hibernation Chamber” is a box constructed of plywood, insulated with pink fiberglass—visible through a plexiglass viewing cover—and lined entirely with a rich, red satin cushion. To enter the fanciful place for rest, the sleeper would crawl up a 12-foot, sleeping-bag-like tunnel. Accompanying the chamber is the “Dreaming Cap,” attached with ribbon to about 20 birdhouses, each filled with a vignette or an image suggesting a dream, including a perfect garden, naked in a forest, bare feet and standing at the lectern in front of a large audience.

A storybook displayed in the room shows the artist’s drawing of the chamber in use. A young man sleeps in the chamber, snug underground, with the dreaming cap on, and the ribbons leading out a hole in the roof to the birdhouses. Dreams abound. A proposal for rest and reflection, fantasy and healing, the book is accompanied by long underwear for the venture. The chamber and the cap are masculine and feminine at the same time, inviting to just about anyone. The artist calls us to take time out of our hectic lives to dream.

“Niagara Falls” will remain on view at UB Art Galleries through July 29 and “Olympus Manger” through May 13. “Hibernation Chamber” closed April 12. The Burchfield-Penney Art Center will open exhibits by Julian Montague and Louis Carlo this Friday, April 14.