NewsPress Release - 2/16/2000

MARLBORO, VT -- The work of sculptor Gene Montez Flores and furniture designer Susan Marya Flores - who are husband and wife - is on display in the exhibit "No Words, For Words," at Marlboro College's Drury Gallery February 21 through March 10. The exhibit includes Gene's books of steel and bronze and Susan's series of letter-writing desks.

Gene, who was raised in San Bernardino, California, has been featured in solo and group exhibits since 1978. His work has been inspired by the landscapes where he grew up. "I walked across the hills, along the stream beds, under the trees." Later, he conceived of his observations in a book format. "Like the action of air and water on the earth, the book material (steel and bronze) is shaped by air and fire, creating landscapes which can then be further manipulated by the viewer. The 'text' is held within the materiality of the object, iron, pulled from the earth and gently coaxed to reflect, retell, and restore its own history."

Susan has been designing and producing contemporary furniture for ten years. She works primarily in metals, often incorporating upholstery, stone, glass, and turned wood into her designs, and adding humor, references to furniture history, and elements of surprise. She has had solo shows of her most recent unique furniture designs at Howard Yerzerski Gallery in Boston in 1998 and 1999. According to Susan, she pursued the series of writing tables because she wanted to keep alive "the idea that there is something historic, sensuous, and very personal about writing and receiving letters."

The gallery, which is fully accessibly, is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday through Friday. For more information, please call (802) 257-4333. The Marlboro events calendar can be found on-line at www.marlboro.edu/calendar/calendar.html.