Galleries Align For 1-Man Show

It's rare to have two galleries work together to sponsor the same artist at the same time. But that's what's happening in two exhibits of the drawings, prints and steel sculptures of local artist Dominique Labauvie.

Called "Constellations, & Acrobats," the sculpture portion of the exhibit opens Saturday at Michael Murphy Gallery M in South Tampa. The exhibit of drawings and prints will open Friday at Bleu Acier in Tampa Heights. Both shows run through April 19.

Labauvie's wife, master printer Erika Schneider, played a big role in producing the prints.
"I'm an enabler and an alchemist," said Schneider, owner of Bleu Acier. "When an artist has an idea and wants to make a print, I teach them how to do it and work with them on the color and the layering. It's a true collaboration."

To illustrate her point, she discussed one of the prints, "The Golden Fleece."

"It went through quite a few changes," she said. "We had to play with the colors a little bit, and then we decided to throw a transparent golden layer over the whole thing to make it really bright, and all of a sudden, the print came together."

The exhibit's theme centers on the representation of mythological figures from constellations, interpreted through Labauvie's lines and forms.

He made "these round dots that insinuated respiration or breath, and then he integrated them into the composition of the drawing," Schneider said. "It's more of an imagined golden fleece than the actual one in the sky."

As for the acrobats in the title, that refers to the process of making a sculpture. Like many artists, Labauvie's creative process often starts with a mix of excitement and uncertainty - much like a tightrope walker would feel.

The exhibit opens with free receptions from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at Bleu Acier, 109 W. Columbus Drive, and from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Gallery M, 2701 S. MacDill Ave.

Call Bleu Acier at (813) 272-9746 or Gallery M at (813) 902-1414 for details.