Merg Ross at Spectrum Gallery

On my way to barbaque chicken at a my son's school carnival, I stopped off at Spectrum Gallery in Fresno to catch the opening of Merg Ross's retrospective exhibition. I'd never seen Merg's photographs before and I have to say it was a real treat.

While there were several landscapes, the majority of the work was of abstracts. I was reminded of a chinese puzzle box---each offering demanded time to enable my brain to fathom what my eyes were seeing. Tree bark, rain drops, torn chairs, cracked linoleum, lamp shades, the door of an old automobile, a saxophone, a detail of a totem pole. Common objects transformed by Merg's creative eye into an abstract design which camoflages the object from which it originated.

I don't know how long the exhibit is on for(the details are in my car, which I traded off with my Bride who worked the later shift at the school carnival!), but if you're passing through Fresno on the way to the National Parks (Yosemite, Kings Canyon, or Sequoia)in the near future and want a treat before heading up "the hill" you might want to make a point of stopping by the Spectrum Gallery in Fresno's Tower District for the exhibit. Its like candy for the eyes.

Cheers!

The gallery exhibit will be at Spectrum through the 23rd. of May. This is a retrospective of fifty years of Merg's work. I hope I'll get the oportunity to see it. Perhaps it can be published into a book.