"There and Not There: Rust Portraits by Esther Solondz" April 10, 2010

Esther Solondz cultivates her astonishing rust portraits as she would a seed garden, mixing the right combination of materials with water, preparing the surface and then settling back to wait for images to germinate. Solondz uses steel wool, iron filings, salt and water applied to cotton paper to create these large heads, some as big as 4 feet x 5 feet. We usually think of rust as something that breaks down material, but in Solondz’s hands, rust builds up to leave a beautiful image. Reception on Friday, April 9 from 5 – 7 pm, free for Newport Art Museum members, $10 for non-members.