Jacob's Ladder

Jacob's Ladder is an installation of paintings designed in response to the 16-foot high ceiling and exposed vertical timbers of the Form + Content Gallery space. Howard Oransky found the gallery space to have an architectural drama that drew his vision upward, and reminded him of the biblical Jacob's ladder:

He took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

The exhibition consists of five large abstract paintings. Each work is a vertical arrangement of numerous small panels. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a painting that is 2 feet wide and 16 feet high. It stands on the gallery floor, leaning against the wall, and rises to the full height of the ceiling. The scale and physical presence of the ladder motif and the color and gesture of the paintings suggest a search for pure experience as might be found in a dream.

Howard Oransky has participated in over 70 exhibitions nationally, beginning with the 1986 group exhibition Oppression/Expression curated by Leon Golub and Lowery Sims at the Contemporary Arts Center, New
Orleans. His work has been reviewed in the New York Times, New York Newsday, New Art Examiner, and many other publications. He received artist fellowships from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and the New
Jersey State Council on the Arts. His MFA in studio art is from California Institute of the Arts.

Rena Simon-Igra
Also in the gallery are some new artworks by Rena Simon-Igra, an
unusually talented fourteen-year-old living in San Francisco. This is
her first gallery exhibition.

What
New paintings by the artist Howard Oransky
 
When
Thursday, September 27 – Thursday, October 31, 2007
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 29, 2007 from 7:00 – 10:00 pm
Gallery hours: Thursday – Saturday, 12:00 – 6:00 pm and by appointment
 
Where
Form + Content Gallery
Whitney Square Building
210 North 2nd Street, Suite 104
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401

All photos are by Jim Dryden. #1 and #2 show Howard Oransky working
on Jacob's Ladder. #3 and #4 show Howard Oransky working on Jacob's
Ladder assisted by Amanda Olson, Form + Content Gallery intern.