Dyer Arts Center exhibit features photos, drawings

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Dennis Revitzky

Drawings by artist Dennis Revitzky and photography by Justin Wallace will be showcased in a summertime exhibition at NTID Dyer Arts Center Aug. 4-25.

Photographer Justin Wallace received an old, moldy, fungi-infested shoe from his fishing buddy—and the footwear gave his work a new life’s purpose. Not only does he take the shoe everywhere he goes, but Wallace has created an array of images that represent a multiple reflection of who he is as an artist.

Dennis Revitzky said besides using sketches and preliminary drawings for his painting and printmaking, many of his drawings are finished works in themselves. “When using colored pencils, it is the closest my artwork has come to approaching photo-realism.”

The artists will showcase their work in “Revitzky: 50 Years of Drawing & Wallace: The Shoe” in Dyer Arts Center at Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf. The show runs Aug. 4-25, with an artist reception scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16.

As Wallace explained his recent “shoe fetish,” which began in the early winter months of 2012, “There are so many underlying meanings and symbols that the shoe portrays that it makes my head spin. As a whole, the shoe is me. The shoe is constantly changing throughout time. The shoe has a soul and in comparison to my soul it becomes one with nature and the very essence of the body and spirit within.”

In his artist’s statement, Revitzky said he often depicts famous historical art in his work to show an appreciation for contributions of artists from the past. “For me, I think it’s always a way to reflect the adage that art imitates life, and life imitates art.”

The Dyer Arts Center, located at 52 Lomb Memorial Drive, is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and by request. For more information, email dyerartscenter@rit.edu or call 585-475-6406.