This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Dec. 8, 2011 - Take some time this month to visit Gallery Proper, the storefront gallery of All Along Press, which is featuring two artists: St. Louis-based Michael Worful, whose "Hello China" photographs are visually punchy but deadpan scenes from that surreal, shape-shifting country; and New York-based Sal Randolph, who has five of her favorite words stenciled to the glass.
The show is curated by All Along Press' Angela Malchionno, currently also a printmaking instructor at Washington University.
It's marvelous that Gallery Proper's shows will be visible only from the street -- it means you don't have to worry about gallery hours (indeed, the Randolph piece is best seen at night, when the lights, reflections and shadows create complex interplays not visible in the day). In general, the Cherokee Street scenes reflected in the windows add to the experience of the art in this most public, most inviting of galleries.
Ivy Cooper is the Beacon visual arts reviewer and a professor of art at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.