Rich Fertilizer

An exhibition of organic art

Comments (0) By Carlos Suarez De Jesus Thursday, Jan 26 2006

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You won’t need to know the difference between mulch and manure to get your green thumb on and cultivate a conceptually blooming patch of Eden at Bernice Steinbaum Gallery. “Nature Matters,” opening tonight at 7:00, features the work of a quartet of artists -- Elsoca, Fabian, Karen Rifas, and Joe Walters -- promising to leave spectators almost feeling the suck of the Earth, the rush of the wind, and the buzzing of insects. Elsoca and Fabian fertilize the mind with their funky “obsessive compulsive biodrawings” concocted from bug tinsel. They mash and dice insects to create intricate imagery, including a piece where a boy sniper with a high power rifle is seen drawing a bead on a common housefly. The zany duo, who favor mosquitoes, flies, and roaches as media, say they stumbled on the concept in Cuba during a government campaign to rid the island of its creepy crawlies. “Government fumigators would show up unannounced to spray for bugs, and I remember swatting a mosquito against a wall and thinking the splatter looked interesting,” Fabian chuckles. “I also like the idea that it had sacrificed its life for art.”
Sat., Jan. 28, 7 p.m.; Mondays-Saturdays. Starts: Jan. 28. Continues through March 25