Out of the Box exhibit to open June 3 at Peninsula Gallery

Peninsula Gallery presents Out of the Box, an exhibition of art that breaks boundaries.

Highlighting three-dimensional artwork that challenges art’s traditionally flat plane, Out of the Box features sculptural hanging pieces made from a wide range of materials like stone, wood, found objects and glass. The exhibition’s tactile artworks are from Christopher Buonomo, Donna Marie Daub, Sarah Pavlik, Rick Rothrock and Molly Sanger Carpenter.

An opening reception will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m., Saturday, June 3.

Tony Boyd-Heron, gallery co-owner and exhibitions director, said, “The majority of works we have in our gallery are two-dimensional paintings that are confined to a canvas. For this exhibition, we wanted to highlight artwork that goes outside of the traditional box, giving our patrons the chance to experience finely crafted, avant-garde art pieces.”  

An artist specializing in stone carving, woodworking and metal fabrication, Buonomo served as a sculptor’s apprentice in Prague after earning a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He is executive director of the Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show. For Out of the Box, Buonomo has a mixture of wood and marble sculptures. Each piece is carved by hand to capture the perfect combination of flowing movement and rigid lines, creating motion and swirl.  

Daub’s education as a high school science teacher drove her to experiment with many different materials. Being a self-taught artist, she has found that bringing wood, metal, paper and paste together in a variety of ways keeps the scientific process alive in her. Daub’s whimsical assemblage works combine odd bits and bobs with her favorite words and personal observations to create a visual conversation. Reminiscent of 19th century circus and side-shows aesthetic, her fun and unconventional collage pieces are unlike anything typically seen in the gallery.  

Pavlik, a Lewes local, is a regular exhibitor showcasing her innovative art quilts at Peninsula Gallery. Her artistic process typically involves using a motif or configuration as inspiration in creating a composition. Pavlik explores possibilities, often improvising to create new forms. She strives for figure-ground tension and a composition that encourages viewers to move their eyes around the piece, finding interest throughout. For the works featured in this show, Pavlik has used a variety of natural and man-made materials — paint, chalk, ink, corn, soy milk and earth pigments — to add an extra textural dimension to her fabric pieces, taking them beyond her usual quilts.

Rothrock holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a master of fine arts degree in sculpture. He teaches stone carving at the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center in Vermont. He has been active in the arts for over 45 years, participating in symposiums, exhibiting internationally and creating major public artworks.  He is represented in corporate, public and private collections, and has designed exhibits and collections for several museums. His artwork contrasts the natural surface and structure of stone with internal traces of its origins and beauty. The Happy Man series celebrates the ubiquity of the human face and is inspired by the mobiliary sculptures of paleo and neolithic cultures.

Sanger Carpenter, a Delaware native, spent her childhood immersed in art viewing and making. She utilizes many different materials and techniques, blending mediums to create a fine art curio reminiscent of icons and retablos, with a nod to Della Robbia. Inspired by the forests, fields, beaches and lakes around Delaware, she creates fairytale-like mosaics that communicate a detailed story through elements of mixed media, glass and gold.