Larry Becker Contemporary Art Exhibition Review
Robin L. Rice

A single row of Italo Scanga's sculptures down the center of two connecting galleries cleverly mimicked the additive, stacking process in the artist's totemlike new works. On waist-high pedestals and ranging in height from 6 to 35 inches, the 20 sculptures are chiefly constructed of bronze casts of found objects and welded joints.

In some ways, these were typical of the artist's well-known felicitous juxtapositions of the ordinary and unexpected. But unlike his previous works, the new pieces are monochrome, intimate in scale, and traditional in the way each incorporates a base.

Animals and humans appeared in every work. The fish and the rabbit, Chinese symbols for luck, were recurring motifs. The Chinese character for "Double Happiness" can be rotated around the tall central staff of 'Love,' which fuses several fish and a toy bank in the shape of a kitten with a ball of yarn.

For 'Musician,' inexpensive copies of Royal Doulton china figurines of a man and a woman holding balloons were cast and joined at the base with the clusters of balloons twining around like a bunch of grapes. The glossy, umber-colored piece is crowned with a small figure of a cellist.

Often topped with a small cup resembling a candleholder, these seemingly precarious accretions suggest the fragility of daily life along with the good luck charms we depend on to help maintain balance.