Marble made ‘light and airy’

By Kristen Peterson (contact)

Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007 | 7:24 a.m.

What: "On It: New Sculptures by Venske and Spanle"

When: Opening reception 6 to 8 p.m. Friday;exhibit runs through Feb. 3

Where: Dust Gallery, 1221 S. Main St.

Admission: Free; 880-3878

They're lavish, whimsical, sensual, even erotic.

They sit on your lap, rest over your shoe, congregate in flocks and butt into walls.

Bulging outward, flopping over themselves, their voluptuous wrinkles and rounded folds meld with varying masses.

Curious and lovable, they are the Shar-Peis of abstract sculpture, the very antithesis of marble's formal tradition.

"We see them as entities," says Julia Venske, referring to the cluster of cartoonlike marble forms, each larger than a basketball, resting on the floor of Dust Gallery where "On It: New Sculptures by Venske and Spanle" opens Friday.

This is the first Las Vegas exhibit by the German artists and is a result of Dust owner Naomi Arin's learning of them via another gallery at New York's Armory Show.

At first Arin, who has a finish fetish, was intrigued by the sculptures' seemingly synthetic nature. When she learned the works were not synthetic, she was floored.

It's a common reaction, Gregor Spanle says. "People constantly ask, 'Is it porcelain or resin cast?' "

Spanle enjoys breaking from marble's formal traditions. "Sculpting with stone, you easily get put in a drawer and that's not so interesting."

Venske and Spanle dabble in bronze and aluminum, including highly polished gold-looking bronze sculptures. But marble, which has the ability to replicate flesh, is the raison d'etre with these creatures. The sculptures, when made with resin, have no soul, they say.

The artists get their marble at the Henreaux company in Italy. The dense, rough chunks are sculpted down on the premises, shedding two-thirds of their weight. From there they travel to the artists' studio in Germany, then to Brooklyn, N.Y., where the pieces are meticulously carved and polished, leaving no trace of their industrial past.

"First we beat it, then we pet it," Venske says.

Some works are studies in line and form, some carry varying shapes and ripples. All are endearingly adored by their creators, who consider them petlike and in need of like company.

Often photographed in industrial environments, an intentional contrast to the pretentious and luxurious marble, one of the works comes with a gritty pallet jack that serves as its host. One of the artists' works was transported to a barren mountain in Peru, where it remains. They are working on one of their "gumpfot" pieces in Italy. The work weighs 12 tons, stands 15 feet tall and humorously looks down at its viewer.

"Historically, marble sculpture is such a revered form of art," Arin says. "I love the idea of making it new, making it funny because it was never funny.

"It's such a classical material and configured in a way that looks so fake, an old form made light and airy."