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Photograph by Leon Borensztein William Scott sizes it up. Get Inside If These Walls Could Talk at Creative Growth Art Center through Nov. 21. By Kelly Eginton It's one of those special occasions when Creative Growth is showcasing select bodies of work by a few exceptional artists. If These Walls Could Talk allows viewers to get intimate with four resident artists: Camille Holvoet William Scott, Gerone Spruill, and Aurie Ramirez. Intimate is the key word here; this focused grouping of artists, installed smartly to highlight their differences of approach, heightens the sense of personal revelation. Splitting the gallery into four little rooms lends a sense of privacy to the exchange between artist and viewer, particularly with the work of Camille Holvoet. Her explorations of psyche work their way through thick, rich applications of oil pastel, taking on palpable emotional energy. Domestic scenes such as "Cleaning Closet" and "Camille and Mom Eating Head Cheese" (whoa!) gain extra surrealistic value hung on cheery pale yellow walls. With a generous sense of humor, Holvoet tempers tragedy with "I Have Nothing to Look Forward to Waking Up in the Morning," where she pictures herself in bed dreaming of fried eggs. Her "Obsession Pills" are manifested as little ceramic bottles individually labeled according to their prescription. "Pills for Obsessing about BART Tickets" seem especially important. Gerone Spruill works it out much differently, with fantastic renderings of "Chocolate City" fantasies played out on dark red walls. Tight illustration transports the artist into the persona of D.J.G., a super-smooth, imagined self, spinning records and meeting many fine ladies, with "eyes at the back of his shoulders, reading thought bubbles chocolistically." The deliberateness and careful confidence these drawings possess leave no doubt that Spruill embodies D.J.G. in his daily practice as an artist. His "Chocolate Boys" and "Chocolations as a DJ Group" will make you feel good. And famous. Strange sensations with Aurie Ramirez. While Spruill gets funky, Ramirez gets freaky. At least, I started to feel a little freaky in her pastel colored wonderland where everybody's got this kind of harlequin face, like the guys in the rock band KISS. Guys, girls, ice cream cones, and jello molds are all portayed with that signature face. Ramirez communicates complex feelings that she may not be able to express verbally in this wildly imaginative otherworld. Guys and girls eating ice cream deliver undeniable physical sensation, but the "Guy Peeking at Ice Cream" through a little hole (with a squirmimg little ice cream cone face) pursues mischief in the sweetest way. William Scott's visionary renderings and models of buildings provide nice contrast to Ramirez's frenetic energy. A contemplative, still mood prevails in the solid blue skies that surround his lovingly rendered buildings, such as "Alice Street Projects." One can imagine the artist constructing these monuments, bit by bit, brick by brick. They add up to a testimony of his dedication to the pursuits stated in a letter to the people of the Cornerstone Baptist Church, which accompanies his balsa wood and cardboard model scaled from memory. "I will be having my good life to be wholesome to be staying that way for friendships to be needed a girlfriend." I think everyone can relate. P.S. Don't forget to check out work completed by High School Summer Scholarship students displayed in the walkway leading into the large studio. You'll be most impressed by the evident potential the young artists possess. Watch out for Brian Nakahara and Joseph Alef, tag-team inductees into the regular program whose baseball visions make the future at Creative Growth look even brighter. Creative Growth provides creative art programs, educational and independent living training, counseling, and vocational opportunities for adults who are physically, mentally, and emotionally disabled. [ East Bay | Metroactive | Archives ]