Tripping the lab fantastic
The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Victoria Donohue
March 31, 2011

Amanda Stark, Spatial Distribution Luminosity Identifier, 2006
Copper, Sterling Silver, Nu-Gold, Nickel Silver, Glass, 12" x 5.5" x 9"

Amanda Stark, a new face at Seraphin Gallery, is a professionally trained Michigan metalsmith and glass artist exhibiting nationally at age 30.

Especially interesting is the power she demonstrates to integrate a variety of styles and materials into a successful whole in her quirky and complex "devices."

This she achieves in her show, "The Astral and Tellurian," mostly of small works and one or two of medium size - all combining metal and glass with jewellike precision, and occasionally including a few found objects. Not a true sculptor, Stark can be considered either an outstanding decorative sculptor or an inventive decorator/silversmith.

Either way, she comes across as an honest innovator who transcends established styles while freely drawing on them.

These pieces - sometimes sinuous, sometimes jocular - relate to alchemy, to cabinets of curiosities, to astronomy, earth sciences and physics, with a focus on historical development and changes to equipment in those realms.

Among the typically saucy titles of her works are Spatial Distribution Luminosity Identifier, Terrane Undulation Collector, and Cosmic Dualities Challenging Perspective Device - the last a complicated piece hinting of a widespread belief that the world is flat.

 

 

Seraphin Gallery  l  Contemporary Philadelphia Art Gallery and Art Consultant 
1108 Pine St.  l  215-923-7000  l  seraphin@seraphingallery.com