Photo By Julie Bernzott

Louis Dow's "Rites of Spring" layers colors and textures

A welcome blast of cool air greets you at the entrance to the MALTON GALLERY (2643 Erie Ave., Hyde Park), cozily ensconced in its new home, the old Phyllis J. Weston gallery on Hyde Park Square. If you haven't checked it out yet, now's the time: the gallery features the work of artists LOUIS DOW and TERRI HALMAN, offering an intriguing mix of pieces. Dow's print monotypes use textural detail that's stunning and strangely disconcerting. The pieces beg for touch, yet cause you to withdraw from their apparent depth. Dow layers colors, textures and shapes in an appealing tangle, with a decidedly alluring result. In "On Top of the World," his technique produces a riotous array of images and color that does, in fact, make you feel as if you might be on top of the world. Yet in "Rachel's Mountain," the simplicity is breathtaking, resembling a constellation, black, speckled with white "stars." The effect is mysterious, almost silencing. And while you're there, don't miss Halman's combination of wood assemblages, mixed media on paper and oil on wood. She seems to excel at each technique, but most captivating are the pieces using oil on wood. The paint is so thick and smooth, it appears to be glass. And the medium makes for interesting "portraits," which are wide expanses of color with little evident detail -- but the outcome is striking. Give it a try -- I doubt you'll be disappointed. Through Aug. 2. ...

BASE GALLERY (1225 Main St., Over-the-Rhine) always seems to find a noteworthy way to invite the community into their space, and this month is no exception. When you're prowling Main Street on Final Friday, stop by for The Collab-orative Show, featuring a collaboration (what else?) of two exhibitions. The show is organized by Camilla S. Haneberg, a 2005 Art Academy graduate who recently held her own thesis show at the Art Academy's Chidlaw gallery. It will feature two exhibitions: one of 12 pieces, each created using different media and designed through the cooperation of 70 children from St. Veronica School; the other, a showing of "mail art," continual work on art shipped through the mail among several artists during an eight-week period. Both sound truly imaginative. Opening reception Friday, 6-10 p.m. Through Aug. 21. ...

And speaking of remarkable collaborations, it's exciting to hear that InkTank, Metro and TANK will collaborate for an event this fall, ARTMOVES. In an effort to bring art and poetry to the community, this program invites artists and writers to design display cards to be featured in the interior lighted space of Metro and TANK buses. Designed or drawn to the theme "Where are we going?" works can be produced directly on the cards, or photographers and graphic designers can submit material electronically. Artists can pick up display cards at Enjoy the Arts (1338 Main St., Over-the-Rhine), or the Carnegie Visual + Performing Arts Center (1028 Scott Blvd., Covington) during business hours. Deadline for submission is Aug. 19. Info: 513-542-0195 or www.inktank.org.

Mini Reviews
Currently at the CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER (44 East Sixth St., Downtown) is Slide Show, an exhibition that compiles the work of 20 artists who expand on slide photography. Slides were predominantly taken between 1960 and the late 1980s, when the format was at the height of its popularity. The work is captivating, mesmerizing and slightly hypnotic. The warm humming and clicking of the projectors create an atmosphere that takes this exhibition to the next level. From seaside cabanas to sexually explicit imagery, it's easy to be overtaken by the techniques and environment, only possible in viewing what is now considered an archaic format. Through Sept. 11. (Jacquelyn Vaughn) Grade: B+