Enriched Bread Collective at O'Connor Gallery

The Enriched Bread Collective from Ottawa came to town, presumably on one big bus like the Partridge Family, for a group show at the O'Connor Gallery. The opening took place on Friday, January 9th, and the theme was Verticality, so many of the pieces compelled the viewer to look up or down. Being short, I look up to everything anyway, so I loved it. There were more installations and sculptures than I've ever seen at the O'Connor. Highlights include:

- Cindy Stelmachovich's 6 Feet Under, consisting of two huge ranch house wooden pillars. At the base was a stone upon which lay one of those Visible Men toys from years ago, all hallowed out. Six feet above him, balanced on a one-inch thick slab of medical glass were all the parts needed to make him go - his rib cage, his teeth, his pelvic bone, his heart, etc., all contained within tiny glass specimen bottles. Awesome, and only $8,000.00;

- Kenneth Emig's simple yet elegant installation, consisting of two purple octagons, one on the floor and the other on the ceiling, with a black light and a mirror inside. When you look down or up, you see infinity. Very trippy, but I must apologize for thinking it was a fancy new table and almost putting my wine glass on it;

- and Gayle Kells' Pound for Pound, consisting of a little party dress made entirely of Lactancia unsalted butter wrappers, suspended from the ceiling. My boyfriend Steve loved this one the most, and if I had $2,000 to burn, I'd buy it for him. It reminded us of that Oscar dress made entirely of AMEX gold cards. Who knew those shiny gold and purple Lactancia butter wrappers could be so beautiful?

Steve and I also appreciated the table of artisan cheeses. In fact, now he wants to make cheese at home, and is busy researching how on the internet. We also appreciated the wine and charming barkeep Krista. As I've said before, the O'Connor is my favorite place to drink. Now under the management of Geoff Person, the gallery continues to amuse, though the past two shows have not been particularly gay. Not to worry. The next show will be Judy Chicago, a gay media event if there ever is one.