In 1967, artist Austine Wood Comarow invented “Polage,” short for polarized collage, and brought it to Las Vegas in 1976. That very invention spawned an entire lineage of Polage artistry, which requires the viewer to look through polarized filters to see the art’s colors and designs.
Comarow and her husband David Comarow opened their first studio and gallery in Boulder City in 1985 with eldest daughter Cara (now Cara Wood Ginder) working as studio manager. Their younger daughter, Erika Wood, joined the business in 1998. Cara’s daughter Charlotte Ginder joined in 2019 before Austine’s sudden passing in 2020.
On display at Sahara West Library until May 2, the exhibit Three Generations of Polarized Light Art gives a peek into the possibilities of this medium—and the family so deeply influenced by it. Cara’s renderings of historic lodgings and neon signs, and Erika’s bold and playful portraits and patterns use LED lights. Several of Austine’s works are not lit, but rather simply and beautifully made with reflecting polarizing filters and bifringent materials.
With LED lights, Austine’s “Breaking the Surface” pops with colorful coy fish and lilies in an aquatic amalgam. Erika’s “Nine Portraits” depicts different women initially hidden behind various symbols and shapes. Cara’s “Mirage” captures a moment in midcentury history on the marquee of the defunct motel. Charlotte’s “Neighborhood” shows black and white snapshots featuring suburban architecture and skylines through the polarized lens of midcentury-style shapes. Each piece makes perception of the art an active component of the work and showcases unique styles within one family keeping an artistic tradition alive.
Three Generations of Polarized Light Art Thru May 2, Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sahara West Library, thelibrarydistrict.org.
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