Betty Breckin­ridge

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  print December 1962/January 1963

  Mordecai Gorelik

  Four decades of designs for the theatre. This exhibition reveals the multi-faceted problems Gorelik encoun­tered in designing for the stage but it does not do justice to his artistic achievements. Its major failing is that it presents Gorelik primarily as a drafts­man rather than as a stage designer. In effect it focuses on his weakness in­stead of his strength, for his concepts rarely communicate theatrically (hence artistically) until they are realized on stage. The show actually faults its sub­ject twice over. Not only does it miss the point in establishing Gorelik’s real me­dium, it also

• 

  print December 1962/January 1963

  John Roeder

  Naive sculpture, garden decorations and other objects. A small postscript to the extensive retrospective of Roeder’s painting and sculpture presented here two years ago, this exhibition concen­trates mainly on the artist’s minor works. A retired gardener, Roeder made many of these pieces for his own gar­den (soon to be destroyed); and it is the gardener’s media he uses––cement, broken flower pots and shells, twigs and leaves. Although the work is uneven in quality and much of it is repetitious, even at its worst it reveals a truly inven­tive decorative sense. Moreover, apart from its engaging