WARSAW — Downtown Warsaw's art gallery, Atelier, is kicking off the new year with an exhibit featuring a sculpture artist.

domicilium: a place to dwell is an exhibition of work by New York City-area artist
Michael Wolf. The show includes four freestanding sculptures, nine wall-hung
relief pieces, and one painting with geometric forms and gilded arches rendered in
wood, stone, metal, and gold leaf.

Wolf creates exquisite architectural forms exploring the meaning of physical space
in our spiritual lives. His work asks, “from sacred altars to humble homes, where
do we take refuge, where do we pause, where do we grow?” The artist’s sculptures
abound with metaphors of the human experience, as alluded to in evocative titles
like “The Roots that Clutch, “Glass Houses,” and “Only the Wind’s Home.” The
desire for shelter—both physically and psychologically — permeates his work.

[caption id="attachment_89202" align="alignright" width="201"] Michael Wolf[/caption]

Decidedly contemporary, Wolf’s art maintains an ongoing dialogue with history. It is rooted in classical architecture and pays homage to the Renaissance, as in the sculptor’s use of draped forms and natural pigments.

“Michael’s sculptures give the sense that they have been kissed ever so slightly by an influence of the American Craft movement,” Attelier director Sea Grandon says. “The works feel like little homes built classically and then swept over by a
slight breeze of Americana.”

In curating Atelier's first solo exhibition of the year, Grandon says she was drawn to Wolf’s ability to create meaning and emotion with repeated materials, geometry, and colors. “Michael’s work evokes complicated architecture in a reduced and refined manner, and the result is astonishingly modern and beautiful yet viscerally familiar,” she says. “I find his art speaks to something universal deep within us that seeks shelter and comfort.”

Grandon says architectural structures play a critical role in modern life, citing
British philosopher and author Alain de Botton’s seminal work, The Architecture of
Happiness.

“Belief in the significance of architecture is premised on the notion that
we are ... different people in different places — and on the conviction that it is
architecture’s task to render vivid to us who we might ideally be,” de Botton
writes.

Grandon says domicilium is perfect for art enthusiasts looking to escape winter
malaise in the Midwest and beyond. “Michael is exploring home and hearth and
the spaces that we as humans find sacred,” she says. “I hope visitors experience
the sculptural works and the gallery space as a warm and inviting respite for the
body and soul.”

domicilium: a place to dwell opens Feb. 8 and runs through March 22.

Atelier's hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays. The address is 104 E. Center St.

Admission is free.

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WARSAW -- Want to watch a large painting come to life in a matter of minutes and help document the project?

The opportunity awaits Saturday morning in downtown Warsaw.

That’s when Marc Eckel will quickly throw together an eight-foot painting. He's the owner of Splat Experience, a Christian performance art ministry.

Saturday's artwork is different from what he's done in the past, he said.

Eckel relies on people using cell phones to record the moment and could use a few more people to help out.

The event will take place at 10:30 a.m. in the old ballroom above Mad Anthony’s on East Center Street.

Anyone interested in participating should email Eckel by Thursday and he’ll send you details. You can also reach him by phone at 574-253-2021.

He said he and the participants will go through a dry run so everyone knows what to expect. After the filming, he'll download the videos from everyone and then condense them into a video at a later time.

Eckel once performed on the Mike Huckabee show. You can see that clip here.

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