Featured Review: BRICALEUR-ing This abundantly energetic group show features an extensive list of local female artists — Gina Alvarez, Kara Clark Holland, Emily Hemeyer, Jamie Kreher, Amy VanDonsel and Amy Thompson, among many others — whose work mines local resources and native skills in order to celebrate (and perhaps identify) a feminine brand of resourcefulness. Coordinated by Sarah Paulsen and Lyndsey Scott, whose work is also included, the show is less an exhibition of artwork than a collection of artifacts left by collaborative acts in realms other than those oriented toward a gallery product. It's an ambitious and possibly contentious premise — programming gender distinctions, testing the efficacy of art as a mode of social activism, questioning the vocabulary of conventional fine art — but the temperament of the show is so inclusively joyful that all hard lines necessarily dissolve, which perhaps is the point. The exhibit includes a two-week run of related events. Also showing: Spirit Ditch, featuring three local (male) painters, Kevin Buford, David Langley and Dana Smith. The trio captures in their work facets of St. Louis' primary- and sub-culture, from the Arch to the old Union Electric plant. The highlight is Smith, an adept and nuanced painter who in his subject matter has become a kind of archivist of local performances and events that would otherwise have been relegated to obscurity. Through March 28 at Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts, 3151 Cherokee Street; 314-772-3628 or www.fortgondo.com. Hours: during events or by appointment.
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