“Opposites Attract” at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art features early and current work by Sylvester Damianos and Kathleen Mulcahy.
Their artwork has been frequently exhibited over their five-decade careers, and both are active members of the broader Pittsburgh art community. Ms. Mulcahy was co-founder, with her late husband and studio partner Ron Desmett, of the Pittsburgh Glass Center. Mr. Damianos is also a practicing architect who has completed numerous public art commissions.
While they are presented under one title, the museum has prepared two essentially solo exhibitions that were planned earlier in the decade but postponed until the museum completed its recent renovation and expansion project.
Ms. Mulcahy was selected for a Westmoreland Museum of American Art Exhibition Award based upon “Tidal,” a work in the 2010 Associated Artists of Pittsburgh Annual Exhibition.
Museum chief curator Barbara Jones writes in the booklet that accompanies the exhibition that she did not recognize the work as Ms. Mulcahy’s when she chose it for the award. When she did learn the artist’s name she wasn't surprised “because it possessed all the qualities that are her hallmarks: simplified forms, exemplary craftsmanship and acute attention to detail. But this piece was different in her combined use of glass and aluminum – two mediums that once held a central place in this region’s industrial landscape.”
Museum collections manager Doug Evans chose Mr. Damianos from the 2011 Annual Exhibition based upon his “Urbanscape.”
“His attention to detail, meticulous craftsmanship and the exquisite finish in this one piece suggested that his body of work would speak to these same sensibilities, and make a compelling and beautiful show,” Mr. Evans writes.
The word “opposites” refers to the central medium each artist works in, not their personalities. Ms. Mulcahy is a glass artist who in recent years has integrated other media including stainless steel and aluminum into her pieces. Mr. Damianos works with wood, much of it “off the shelf or recycled materials” he says in an informative short video by Gary Zak displayed in the gallery. However, his earliest exhibited pieces are of reinforced concrete.
Glass is fluid and transparent; wood is solid and opaque. Ms. Mulcahy’s expression is informed by transformative moments she experienced in the natural world. “Water has become my muse,” she writes in an artist’s statement.
Mr. Damianos’ art reflects the attention to detail and precision featured in his architecture. “I continue to search and explore — to find new ways to combine my interests in art, design, architecture, structure, materials, mathematics, light, space and nature,” he writes.
The show’s installation in the new Cantilever Gallery plays upon the strengths of each artist. Visitors first encounter Mr. Damianos’ concrete forms and pass among his wooden sculpture that variously encloses or casts light and shadow. Next they experience Ms. Mulcahy’s spectral “Vapors” installation arrayed within the daylight pouring through the gallery window wall.
“Opposites” continues through Feb. 5 at 221 N. Main St., Greensburg. Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and until 7 p.m. Wednesday. Admission is a $15 suggested donation; seniors $10; free to ages 18 and under, students with ID, active and reserve military and their families and members. Parking is free. The color-illustrated exhibition booklet is free to visitors. Information: http://thewestmoreland.org or 724-837-1500.
M. Thomas: mthomas@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1925.
First Published: January 25, 2017, 5:00 a.m.
