Art Capsule Reviews

Faith Culture Collection At Grand Arts, Welsh artist Neal Rock’s gargantuan “Pingere Triptych” (pingere is Latin for paint, but also means depiction) straddles the line between sculpture, painting and installation. The three pieces — horizontally arranged and oddly fish-shaped — are constructed from Styrofoam and covered in pigmented silicon squeezed out of cake-icing bags. The results form interesting combinations of shapes that fall somewhere between the natural and synthetic worlds. (Rock claims the three pieces weigh in at 1 ton, and the wood frame holding the piece contributes to the immense quality of the work.) Bright and shiny, thick and decorative, the sculptures appear to float. Look for the much less daunting but equally intriguing “Discreet Lustre,” a pinecone, bud-shaped form delicately hanging vertically in the center of the smaller gallery. Through June 3 at Grand Arts, 1819 Grand, 816-421-6887. (R.T.B.)

Marcie Miller Gross: Density In seven site-specific pieces at the Paragraph, Marcie Miller Gross continues the theme of repeated shapes, lines and textures evident in her Foldoverfold exhibit at the Kemper a few months back. It’s more benign, though — there’s nothing immediately compelling about the seven felt-and-wood works on display. “Cream (Section) #1” hangs like a beige flag representing an imaginary Martha Stewart nation, all soft, warm and fuzzy. “Cream (Vertical)” and “Cream (Horizontal) #2” are mild and passive — they nearly disappear on the gallery wall. More interesting is “Untitled #1,” where the perfectly horizontal shape appears like a primitive piece of meat (made of industrial felt), with beautiful bass wood as the bone. “Untitled #2” continues the motif, altering the shape only slightly for a bump in the center. “Cream (Horizontal) #2” and “Cream (Horizontal) #1” are essentially flip-flopped versions of each other, with a barely discernable difference in the width of their felt strips. Gross works in an intentionally narrow landscape that sometimes doesn’t leave room for the viewer. Through July 8 at the Paragraph, 23 E. 12th St., 816-221-5115. (R.T.B.)