'FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING' 4 artists in Hoyt exhibit view people differently

Mediums differ, as do the artists' backgrounds.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts' new exhibit "Figuratively Speaking" features the works of four artists, all representing the human figure, but in very different ways.
Not surprisingly, the artists themselves all have very different backgrounds and work in various mediums.
James Rettinger
One might think of James Rettinger, a retired teacher from Coraopolis, as the John Cage of the visual arts, scavenging through trash for usable treasures.
"I explore junkyards, railroad sidings and lake shores for findings that suggest nature's decay and regeneration, as well as a reflection of my own humanity," he writes.
"I particularly relish automobile parts; transmissions are gold. Discarded electrical or plumbing components have their possibilities. These rejects echo, resemble and function like our body's internal structure [the heart, nerves, kidneys and sexual organs]."
One sculpture on exhibit is called "Anatomy in Red," a disconnected figure of a red woman on a bench, with an armlike extension beneath the seat with a hand that appears, at first glance, to be holding an organ or body part. Patricia McLatchy, Hoyt Exhibition coordinator, says that Rettinger's works are the most dramatic juxtaposition to the rest of the show.
Kenju Urakubo
Perhaps the most realistic-looking figures are those by Japanese-American artist Kenju Urakubo, who now makes his home in New York.
His nude women are in various poses, often in front of a mirror. What is interesting in many of these paintings is that the reflection in the mirror doesn't always appear to be accurate, drawing one deeper into the piece for closer examination.
"On first appearance, his works look representational, but they have a mood that is more like capturing a memory," McLatchy said.
Ken Daugherty
New Castle artist Ken Daugherty is a member of the Hoyt Artists Association. He says his first serious work was done at age 25, but then he set aside his art for 16 years while he married and reared a family.
Though he says he has had no formal training, his beautiful, Impressionistic-style watercolors have been accepted in many juried art shows and displayed in a number of exhibitions.
He believes that painting should be "a sharing of feeling or emotion rather than a demonstration of technical skills."
Deanne Dunbar
Deanne Dunbar, a young artist from Meadville, has focused her attention on the difficulty females have as professional artists, in what she perceives as a historically male field.
As a feminist and political activist, Dunbar seeks to expand others to perceive and interpret life from nontraditional viewpoints, rather than from the white, male, heterosexual viewpoint, which she believes has become the norm in our culture.
One painting, called "Sailing Women," depicts two women in a boat, in red swimwear, leaning against a sail, in what McLatchy describes as a "'40s female pose."
XThe exhibit will be open to the public from today to July 14 at the Hoyt Museum. There will be a free opening reception today from 2 to 4 p.m. Call (724) 652-2882 for more information.