20 May - 23 June 2006
	North Gallery:
	Ben Snead Paintings	Using his childhood experiences and field manuals as primary sources of reference, Ben Snead paints fish, beetles, insects, birds, and frogs, arranging or choreographing them in simple, repetitive, geometric patterns on softly modeled tones. His classification systems are developed primarily on aesthetic rather than scientific values, and the unnatural configurations, are mostly about patterning, decoration, and mild sociological commentary on beauty and exoticism, same and other, work and play. Often, especially in the most recent paintings, a layering of the patterns coupled with a complex push and pull within the figure ground relationships, creates a pulsing phantasmagoria. If alone for their color and structure, which is anatomically correct, there is an exuberance in these depicted creatures which leaves one to wonder if they have any self awareness of the fleeting nature of their lives, their beauty and their individuality.
	South Gallery and Mezzanine :
	Josh Podoll Paintings and Sculpture	Paintings and sculpture by Josh Podoll invite viewers into dreamy and contemplative mental spaces or places, some of which seem ancient and others of which appear embedded in the contemporary, virtual world. Simple formal and painterly devices, including focus, depth of field, color theory, figure ground, and blurred boundaries between representation and abstraction, have been manipulated by the artist to create images and objects which are simultaneously ephemeral and atmospheric, yet diagrammatic and empirical. Viewed with the non-intentionality of a soft gaze, these works are geared toward taking both rigorous and relaxed minds into a vaguely familiar expansive, internal experience.