Re­fining the medium of collage to the ulti­mate of control, completion, sensitivity, and sparseness, William Dole assumes the direction begun by Kurt Schwitters. Whereas Schwitters felt a mission and compulsion for the medium, a zeal to establish the validity of new materials as an art medium, Dole attempts to discipline these materials. He distills his elements until not one item could be moved or removed. While Dole has spent years in this one direction, time has not caused over-refinement, bore­dom, nor decoration.

This particular showing of his works contains several done under the influ­ence of a recent trip to Rome and some done prior to the trip, using his fa­miliar watercolor wash which creates an Oriental space concept. Maintaining his own personal integrity of vision, but gathering from the rich resources of Italian bookshops and antique stores, his Roman collages exude a feeling for antiquity, and vivid nationality. Merely a warmth of color, a difference in script or print, the use of sharper contrasts (no suggestions of vaporous space), diagrams from old books and portions of a time-worn page indicate a respect for the logic and mystery of the Italian. Words and phrases appear to be used for both form and content, often adding meaning, enigma, or humor to the work. To the American eye there is a richness and beauty in foreign script and print which adds to the works.

—Barbara Smith