Michael Carina: Far From Home

Presumably, it has been a strange trip for Michael Carina. Rather than create a gallery show of travel photography, or a series of paintings that recreate locations in a paint-by-numbers type of way, he has taken a unique route. Using watercolors, collage, and drawings, he creates art that is evocative of a location in the same way a foggy memory might still linger in your head. Chile, for example, features a cityscape that weaves in and out of the background; some buildings are clear, while others are fogged out of clear view. In the foreground, white trees and flowers sprout out as tall wisps, like lollipops in a fairy-tale forest, the snowy egret in the corner the only layer in the image that truly looks solid. In Manila, RVs line a vacation community where the sky is ice-cream shades of orange, red, blue, and green, with lollipop trees again sprouting impossibly high in deep purple. It's funny how memory sometimes works, but the show itself is certainly memorable. Opening reception 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Saturday January 26.
Jan. 27-March 2, 2008