Cut e-mailed 8-2

2col Breath of Fire

Mark Davis, “Breath of Fire,” brass and aluminum with steel wires and acrylic colors.

FOR 8-10 KINETIC ART SHOW WILL OPEN AT HARRISON GALLERY AUG 11 W/1 CUT

avv/lsb set 8/2 V#708151

WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. — The Harrison Gallery will present the exhibition “Kinetic Art: Mark Davis,” on view August 11–September 10. An opening reception with the artist will be Saturday, August 11, 5 to 7 pm.

Davis’s free-floating sculptures are works of fine art set to the rhythms of moving air. As they rotate they present the viewer with endless transformations — never seen twice in exactly the same way. “I am not an artist whose art deals with ‘heavy’ issues,” says Davis. “Life is heavy and serious enough. I like what I make to be joyful and light, entertaining and contemplative.”

Working with both standing and hanging mobiles, Davis uses a multitude of colors and a variety of sheet metals — steel, brass and aluminum — to create shapes that rotate with the slightest breath of air, create endless artistic patterns and balance on a pinpoint as shadows move around the space in infinite combinations.

Like nearly all makers of mobiles, Davis was at first influenced by Alexander Calder, the artist credited with inventing the mobile art form. “Calder gave me the language to work with,” says Davis, “but eventually I found my own voice and my own interpretations. My ideas now are more about sculpture while his were more about space. That’s the difference between us.”

Davis started his art career as a jeweler specializing in sterling silver and brass. From 1982 to 1985 his intricate sculptural jewelry was featured in Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s and Henri Bendel. From 1988 to 1995 he created mobiles for Tiffany window displays in New York.

The Harrison Gallery is at 39 Spring Street. For information, 413-458-1700 or www.theharrisongallery.com.