Strange & Wondrous Things Opening Exhibition

Clay on Main presents Bob Hakun and Stefan Benovsky: Strange and Wondrous Things

Bob Hakun’s found-object industrial assemblages will be exhibited in dialogue with the wearable fabric collages of Stefan Benovsky in the exhibit opening on Sunday, February 18 from 4-6pm.  Hakun describes his work as “Industrial Primitive,” and explains, “I collect old, discarded items: some natural like bones or wood; some man made, like wheels or gears. I look for old things that show the graphic effects of aging: the beauty and harshness of the breaking down over time of all things. I like things that are burned, broken, rusty, crushed, bent, and have acquired a warm patina.”  Benovsky aquires his materials in a similarly omnivorous way, bringing home anything from farm equipment to clothing and beads, then transforming them into one of a kind pieces of wearable art and iron garden ornaments that evoke strange insect and vegetative forms.

For this show, the artists worked with different types of materials, but they have even more in common than their commitment to re-use; both have professional experience in design. Hakun worked in the toy industry, designing Halloween costumes and masks, and designing graphics for silk-screen printing, and has also worked as a computer prepress specialist and a digital graphic designer.  Benovsky is semi retired from a long career as a pattern maker and technical designer in the garment industry.

The public is invited to the opening on Sunday February 18 from 4-6pm, and the show will be up until March 18.