01 / 13 / 2002, Sunday — 03 / 10 / 2002, Sunday

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"Evidence" at Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery Cowell College/ University of California Santa Cruz ( Gallery Hours: Tues-Sun 11:00a.m.-5:00p.m. ) 1156 High Street Santa Cruz CA 95064 (831) 459-2953

Robert Larson's show,"Evidence," opens January 13th at the Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery, UCSC, culminating a 7 year project exploring the urban environment and collecting artifacts of life at the turn of this century. Employing discarded cigarette packages and matchbook covers as his motif for this show, Larson has created large scale wall pieces of richly complex and lyrical beauty that engage the mind as well as the senses. Entering the gallery we are immediately drawn into the theme of "Evidence," a large installation of disintegrating cigarette packages shrouded in plastic baggies. This is the raw material that constitute Larson's work and we are given a glimpse of the collecting process that is such an integral part of Larson's esthetic. From this garbage a rich palette of pigment and texture, derived from the mutability of the discarded objects, is available to Larson's transforming imagination. With consummate skill we are drawn into Larson's vision as we confront the "Evidence" in works elegantly beautiful but at the same time terrifyingly evocative of the dark undertones of urban excess. The show runs from January 13th to March 10th with the opening reception for the artist, Sunday, January 13th, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. A color catalog will be available with an essay by Tyrus Miller, Associate Professor of Literature, UCSC. The artist will give a slide presentation and lecture on Friday, February 1st at 7:00 p.m.