Realism for Every Season Being contemporary at Lisa Kurts Gallery. by David Hall he current exhibition at Lisa Kurts Gallery is called "Contemporary Realism," which apparently means that all of the participating artists are still alive, since there is no other discernible tie that binds them. There are plenty of references to pop culture and to the gamut of art history. There are also, however, a few stolid still lifes that don't reflect one iota of contemporaneity -- their pallid palettes and conservative arrangements seem premeditated to take to the bank (both literally and figuratively). Otherwise, the exhibit's diverse approaches to realism serve to educate the viewer on the many ways the genre can be explored. Harold Reddicliff’s Table By the Window A number of the artists in this exhibit, while using traditional painting techniques of figural representation, inject references to the modernist canon into their compositions. In her picture Still-life with Tomatoes and Zucchini, Amy Weiskopf arranges a still life on a wall and renders it in the manner of empirical realism. Weiskopf's technique is refined; for example, the reflected color within the cast shadow of the cherry tomatoes on the white wall is deftly and subtly represented, which is no small feat. By placing a rectangular niche on the right ever-so-close, the painting's sense of flatness is reinforced, even while it is rendered naturalistically. Similarly, Ray Kleinlein's Seven Boxes, a composition made up entirely of right angles, might remind one of a Mondrian, even though it is a faithful representation of assorted boxes on a mirrored shelf. Kleinlein's use of a neutral palette adds a cerebral air and thus a feeling of modernity. Photo-mechanical methods have long been used by realists and other artists to aid in their depiction of nature, going back to Vermeer's use of the camera obscura in the 17th century. While there's a suspicion that Kleinlein and others in the show use photographic resources (a telling characteristic is that some of the edges will be rendered too crisply, a result of the artist's depiction of photographic phenomena), it is almost certain that Harold Reddicliff employs photography to his advantage. Reddicliff paints in the style of hyper-realism, the various objects painted with clinical precision, every delicate detail painstakingly rendered. Reddicliff's objects themselves seem to float above a series of horizontal bands representing the planes created by the front and top of a shelf as well as the wall behind; this hard geometry, populated by the organic shapes of table-top cigarette lighters, a lollipop, and the like, makes for an especially interesting juxtaposition of illusionistic and flattening elements. While Reddicliff's work is consumed with the depiction of objects, Colleen Cox and Glen Holland exhibit a wonderful talent for capturing light. Cox's Tulips with Pears in Kerry's Bowl is executed in a style that emphasizes translucent and reflected color by the use of a painterly technique. This approach has the effect of subordinating the parts to the whole; the exquisitely crafted mark-making sublimates and diffuses the details for the sake of cohesiveness. Cox's expert use of the brush and confident use of color are exhibited by her representation of a translucent amber vase and its effect on the colors passing through and around it. Holland uses the humblest of still-life fodder (a cork, a fishing bobber, a lit candle) for his miniature paintings. But he seems less interested in objects (thus their commonness) than he is in the subtle effects of light. In his Cork Painting, a sense of mystery is created by Holland's command of chiaroscuro and in the splendid handling of the buttery paint. The tiny size of these paintings (the largest is 4.5" x 7"), combined with the uncompromising craftsmanship with which they are made, imposes a preciousness that belies their subject matter. Although overall "Contemporary Realism" is a great exhibit, there are a few yawners. The work of David Kroll seems out of place, primarily due to its awkward facility and an uneven handling of the paint layers, but it doesn't help that these paintings hark back to a 19th-century sentimentality in their depictions of a bunny and other critters within an idealized landscape. This banal nostalgia is visited as well in Kroll's Vase with Morning Glories, which includes a representation of vines crawling around and strangling a vase (Please!). Raymond Han's large oil paintings, depicting collections of fine objects which are artfully rendered, represent the pinnacle of sofa art, but the pictures are so utterly boring that they add a whole new meaning to the term "still life." This fine exhibit also features the work of William Bailey, Bo Bartlett, Phylis Berman, Guy Diehl, Corda Eby, Alan Feltus, and Jim McVicker. It ends June 7th, so don't miss it. And speaking of opportunities that should not be missed, there are a couple of photography exhibitions that are especially delightful and rare for this region. "The Body and the Lens: Photography 1839 to the Present," on view until June 5th at the Art Museum of the University of Memphis, purports to document "how, throughout its history, photography of the human form reveals and perpetuates power relationships." It includes the work of Hans Bellmer, Walker Evans, Eadweard Muybridge, Andy Warhol, Edward Weston, and Minor White, among many others. The show was curated by John Pultz, a former Memphian who is now a professor of modern art and photography at the University of Kansas as well as the curator of its museum. The photography of Micha Bar-Am documents much of the 50-year history of Israel. Most of the Bar-Am's work in the collection is black-and-white, much of it done when he was a photojournalist for The New York Times between the years 1968 and1992. One of the most startling images in the exhibit is Family Portrait With Cat, Raman Gan, Gulf War, 1991. Taken during a scud missile attack, it records the photographer's huddled wife and two sons peering out of gas masks and clutching the family pet. The show at the Brooks Museum of Art ends May 23rd, but the portion of Bar-Am's exhibit at Jack Kenner Photographic Gallery can be seen until the end of the month by appointment only.