Barr puts life healing on display

It is difficult not to be drawn in by a six-foot tower of papier-mache owls. Standing amidst concentric circles of mismatched fabrics, plaster owls with staring eyes of lace doilies beseech even the most casual passerby to stop and take in the rest of Amanda Barr’s show Public Healing. Composed of ten mixed media pieces with titles such as “Eating Pretty Things” and “Magnetized Eyelashes,” Barr’s latest boasts a distinctly Native American feel with abstract undertones. The last of the now-defunct Branch Gallery’s exhibitions, Public Healing uses contrasting motifs of rounded corners and jagged edges to represent life’s deep injuries and rough restitching, according to the artist’s statement. The pieces are arranged simply enough, some seeming to call their audience to touch and feel. Others are so superficially basic that one can only stare and try to guess what they’ve missed. In one corner, a series of stones, some smooth, others sharp and jagged, are scattered over the ground. Each is a different size, color and shape. These aptly-titled “Flesh Rocks” symbolize human societies and their tendencies to cluster together in times of strife, or to be worn smooth by tempestuous situations. In another corner, black rosebuds and vibrant feathers lay nestled in a bed of straw, displaying both darkness and light in a stark bouquet. The natural, earthy tones of the exhibit only exacerbate the occasional splashes of bright color, and point to the title of the exhibit painted in black block letters on the plain white walls of the small room. The effect is both simple and striking. Public Healing is everything it claims to be: an accessible aesthetic representation of the healing life both brings and necessitates. Public Healing runs through Oct. 11 at Golden Belt’s Building 3, Room 100. For more information, visit www.goldenbeltarts.com.