Dear Metroplex artists,

Who keeps creating all of these terrible tribute renderings of Bob, Jimi and Che? Whenever I see one, I immediately discard it's creation as a complete lack of imagination and write the piece off as swill. My knee-jerk reaction is tragic I know, but realize that if you do make art in this hero-worship vein, your guilt is in your association. Now on to the art week in review.

Landers Machine Shop Art Gallery, 207 E. Broadway Ft. Worth 76104

Before heading out to Artcon, I was lucky enough to hear about a different one night group exhibit going on at the old Landers Machine Shop off of S. Main in Fort Worth. While nearly all of the 8,000+ sq ft building was in action on Saturday, a smaller room (under some leased loft housing) is more frequently used to feature solo exhibits for short periods of time. I hope the new owners keep to that stride at the very least. Saturday's show featured about 50 'emerging' artists from around Tarrant County. I was admittedly drawn to only three or four pieces, and was surprised not to find any hint of an artist's name attached to my favorites. There were many proud price tags, branded right next to lesser regurgitations (see above) of horrible pop, psychedelic, and lazy Photoshop atrocities. While it would have been nice to know who painted the works I enjoyed, I had an overall positive experience, and wish everyone involved with Landers the best of luck.

My favorites from Artcon5

Lauren Kirchner
Vanessa Davis
Jennifer Baker
Iris Bechtol
Jeff Shaw
Robb Conover
Shannon Driscoll
Tania Kaifmann
Amber Campagna
Vet
Jason Janik
Jennifer Carlisle
Sheila Cunningham
Andrew Tolentino
David Wilson
Ange Fitzgerald
Dan Colcer
Jennifer Morgan
Scott Horn

Artcon is a really great annual, and I always have an excellent time. Benefiting area non-profits, the Dallas/Oak Cliff event challenges an incredible number of artists to create one work on a square board in less than three hours. Don't miss Artcon6 in 2010.

The Modern focus: Gardar Eide Einarsson

I don't think this spotlight exhibit is up yet, even though the Modern claims it runs from12/13-2/14. I couldn't find it, and was disappointed. The Modern regularly features impressive touring works, and are continuously amassing a fantastic collection, such as

UNT grad Erick Swenson's physics-defying Untitled sculpture in Gallery 7 immediately trumps the still impressive featured exhibit Moving in Place by Susan Rothenberg. While you're there, check out two video installations in Gallery 8: Vault Sequence Number 10 by Brian Fridge and Setting a Good Corner (Allegory and Metaphor) by Bruce Nauman. Vault Seq. is a loop of different patterns Fridge discovered when introducing steam to his iced-over freezer, and Corner is an hour-long loop of Nauman setting a fencepost. A few of my favorites from the permanent collection are in rotation right now as well, look for the for Sharps Rifle Shop by Rosson Crow.

As you might expect by now, the Kimbell owns a permanent collection of Impressionism, Realism, Italian Renaissance and Surrealism with a little Mondrian thrown in. Currently featured are various works from private collections all over Texas. I encourage you to check this out if you're nearby. Orpheus by Klee and Hector and Andromanche by De Chirico stood out to me. (there's more Mondrian in this gallery too, if you're into that sort of thing)

I haven't made it out yet, but the FW Museum of Science and History is back up and running in their new building. I'll miss being able to point out where eight-year old me puked during during the Omni's helicopter ride opening sequence, but I'm sure the new spot fits well with the rest of the amazing museums in the area. Hope to see it soon.

- Sandy Corn-Hall

Art Con 5 painting night photo by Richardson Heights.