The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery will present In Their Own Time: The Art of Carl McKenzie and Adam Brandau from February 1 through April 20, 1996. Organized in part by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Art Museum and Liz Bank, a Columbus fine art collector and dealer, the exhibition features nearly 200 colorful objects from the work of folk artists Carl McKenzie and Adam Brandau.

This retrospective exhibition of 90-year-old Carl McKenzie’s work is the first in the country to trace the creative development of the self-taught Kentucky sculptor. Items in the exhibition represent every aspect of the artist’s endeavors and are fine examples of Appalachian woodcarving. Included are letter openers, articulated dolls, wall hangers, pipes with faces, painted and unpainted canes featuring snakes, lizards, alligators and human figures, a wide variety of animal sculpture, contemporary figures, historical figures and religious subjects.

Adam C. Brandau, 85, from Jackson, Ohio, is a retired metal worker turned sculptor who uses mostly scrap materials to create figures as tall as 12 feet. He learned his skill from his father, who was a tinner, and from his work in a sheet metal factory. Brandau’s work is made from simple found materials, mostly wood and tin. He draws his figures freehand, then creates art from junk. While Brandau has made numerous creations including birds, animals, airplanes and wooden Ferris wheels, the Riffe Gallery exhibition will feature his life-size figurative works from the 1970s-1990s.

The work of these two artists combines personal values and innovation that is the hallmark of much 20th-century American folk art. In Their Own Time was made possible with the support of Adam Brandau, Liz Bank, Carl Hammer Gallery, Chicago, and John Lambert Gallery, Jackson, Ohio.

The Riffe Gallery, operated by the Ohio Arts Council, showcases the work of Ohio’s artists and the collections of the state’s museums and galleries. The Riffe Gallery is located in the Vern Riffe Center for the Government and the Arts, State and High Streets, Columbus, OH. Gallery hours are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 11-4 p.m., Thursday and Friday 11-7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 11-4 p.m. Admission is free. For information or to schedule a tour call the Riffe Gallery at 614/644-9624.

The Ohio Arts Council, a state agency established in 1965, is committed to the economic, educational and cultural development of the state. The Council believes the arts should be shared by the people of Ohio. The arts arise from public, individual and organizational efforts. The OAC supports and encourages those efforts.

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