Hunt Rettig: "New Work"
Dolby Chadwick Gallery, 210 Post (at Grant), S.F.
Through Aug. 29. Free; 956-3560 or www.dolbychadwickgallery.com.
Rettig has invented a novel way to capture light: He loops strips of paper and metal into biomorphic teardrop and petal shapes, which he then covers with acrylic resin. Hung on the wall, the sculptures glow like moonstones, mysteriously self-contained. Like large-scale costume jewelry, they seem fragile and semiprecious; on the other hand, they look like they'd self-replicate, like cells or algae. Rettig, who hails from Colorado via Texas, ascribes his inspiration to America's ever-changing relationship with landscape and its endless cycle of consumption. The association is far from obvious to the casual observer, but the result transcends missteps of interpretation.
