Clusters of art connoisseurs and curious individuals waded through strings of people to view Buffalo artist Jack Drummer's alternative artwork at the Albright Knox Art Gallery.
Drummer's work is nothing if not innovative; he creates pieces from scrapped rubber. Interesting and dialogue-inspiring, every art lover and critic should see this display if only for the experience.
Similar to the artistic nuances of Jackson Pollack, Drummer's work is intended for respect from an open-minded public, and reactions from the more close-minded, or traditional art-goers. In lieu of traditional paints and materials, Drummer utilizes recycled rubber pads from printing presses, which, in essence, became his paint and paintbrush.
All of the "paintings" in Drummer's collection are seemingly untitled. Some present vivid colors, others, a stringent blackness. One of the two-paneled works in his collection, a "diptych" uses three shades of purple to create an eye-catching display. Drummer seems to have an affinity for squares, as every piece in this collection makes use of the single shape.
The most interesting piece of the collection by far is a single-paneled display. The black rubber work has the appearance of leather lacing, and is somewhat reminiscent of a flattened member of the Village People. For an unknown reason, this display works and provides more of a "talking piece" for art-goers. Some of Drummer's works are available for purchase at the Albright Knox, including two diptychs, one single panel, and one triptych; prices range from $5,000 to $7,000.
Though the works in Drummer's collection are innovative and different, many people will undoubtedly find his pieces to be a little "too" different. This, however, is the allure of the Albright Knox - it has something for everyone.
"Remix: the Collection" remains on display at the Albright until April 15, and contains art ranging from the obscure Jackson Pollack's "Convergence" to the more traditional art found in Matisse's "La Musique" and Jehan George Bibert's "The Marvelous Sauce." Everyone who visits Albright Knox and enjoys Drummer's obscure sense of art needs to visit Robert Therrien's "No Title," a larger than life display featuring a chair and table set around nine feet high.
"At 20 years old, I was making my own work... it became a sport, a challenge. I was particularly drawn to paintings that were not paintings but combinations of materials as exemplified by the works of Conrad Marca-Relli, Alberto Burri and Antonio Tapies," Drummer said in his statement to the Albright Knox.
Drummer spent over a decade working with polyurethane sculpture in Hawaii. Unfortunately, there weren't any galleries that had the capacity to display the large, organic sculptures, some of which were two stories tall.
The artist returned to Buffalo in 1990 and began working with tar and rubber, with which he has been more successful.
"I have two significant bodies of work assembled (approximately 100 works) consisting of large airy-colored rubber, and its opposite in landlocked black in both rubber and tar. They are very satisfying. And art is still there," Drummer said.
Jack Drummer's work is on display now until April 29 at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo.
