EARLVILLE – Two new exhibits are opening at the Earlville Opera House Art Center:  David Harper’s Out of the Woods will open in the West Gallery and Tasja Keetman’s lorem ipsum in the East Gallery.  Both exhibits will remain at EOH from Aug. 26 through Sept. 29.  There will be an opening reception from 4 to 6 p.m. this Sunday. All are welcome to attend and refreshments will be served.
David Harper will explore interrelations between the forms of our written documents and the marvelous variety of qualities of wood, including the sculptural patterns made by insects in his Out of the Woods.  His work has consisted primarily of large-scale site-specific outdoor constructions.  They respond to and intermesh with their natural settings.  More accustomed to creating and installing sculptural constructions with natural materials in outdoor settings and allowing them to season in the elements, this current exhibition is a challenging new foray into the shelter of an indoor gallery space.  David adds, “Growing up exploring the wild with my naturalist parents gave me an early love and respect of the natural world.” His studies and teaching have deepened his understanding of the intricate interplay of natural processes and human activity. David Harper is from Cazenovia; his sculptures have been installed across the U.S., Canada, Ireland and Mexico.
Tasja Keetman was first recognized and appreciated as a photographer for “the fierce visual force, supreme technical agility and vigorous physical energy with which she shapes images of people and things… She harnesses her photographic subjects with her seeing, at once inviting equilibrium to the discordant while compelling the static into orbit…Keetman's dynamic photographic style and exuberant personal energy have also made her a much sought after photographer in New York City's avant-garde performance arena.”
Keetman’s compelling vision was shaped “through a camera's viewfinder by her father, Herr Jan Keetman, one of Germany's most recognized editorial and advertising photographers. As a young adult, she spent much of her time in the darkroom of her uncle, Peter Keetman, the eminent German art photographer, whose images can be found in museums and notable collections worldwide.” Her recent series at Gigantic Artspace won the Kodak prize (2004).  For more on her photography see www.tasjakeetman.com
Keetman’s installation at the Earlville Opera House Art Gallery explores a new direction that expands on recent work from 2006 made of hand-made paper, writings, wood and lights that explored the transience of housing – its delicacy in the face of time and natural forces. The EOH installation includes 31 paper panels approximately three feet wide by seven feet in height installed as a sort of labyrinth.  The panels are suspended from the ceiling and lit by 31 lights.  Some of the panels will be a pure textured white on both sides and some will be white on one side with a body collage on the other side.  Keetman’s title of her current exhibition invites a curious view.  Even though the term "lorem ipsum" often arouses curiosity due to its resemblance to classical Latin, it is not intended to have meaning. Rather it is used when displaying a typeface or design in order to direct the focus to presentation.
Tasja comments on paper as her new medium: “Paper, one of the oldest and most diverse materials emphasizes with its delicateness and transience, its abundance and diversity the predicament of our world community, making it tangible, compelling it in our conscience.”  Tasja Keetman currently lives and works in New York City.
Fall Gallery Hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, noon to 3 p.m. and for all EOH performances.  Call for more information about current gallery exhibits, (315) 691-3550, or visit www.earlvilleoperahouse.com. 
Earlville Opera House events are made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and through the generosity of Earlville Opera House members.