Group Show - LAMP - Jan. 22, 2003 - 3 1/2 stars

A variety of female artists' work, mostly good, some quite forgettable, hangs very well as a whole for this show. A+ for presentation. Opaque, flat glazed, small ceramic sculptures by Michelle Smith are kind of Monty Python meets Mary Englebright, but not really. The dainty pieces are given serene faces, one with something that looks like a yellow daisy swim cap, surrounded by the likes of periwinkle-stamped butterflies. Easily likable and bearing merit, they are whimsical without the art fair look. Yasha Persson's distinctively manipulated photographs are ripe with symbology, beauty and color, without an outrageous price tag. Stacy Novak's large oils, recently displayed at Vic's Coffee Shop, on the other hand, are a bit too high. Her soft Images, feminine pale pinks and designs she creates around her figures, are attractive and seductive. Her paints are mixed with some disproportion. It's like nails down a chalkboard to see dull spots next to high shine. Nancy Kruse's straight-on views of local church doors were decorative. She has a real sense of light and illusion, but reeds to work on the painting part. “Boxed ln," an installation by Jan Van Flexon and Indianapolis Museum of Art light designer Carol Cody explores confinement socially, culturally and personally. It's no surprise that MTV2 chose to film a spot with MadLab at LAMP last weekend. The LAMP (Local Artists Making Progress) space, a former nursing home facility, is steadily making progress This gallery is in it for the artists in a good-spirited, fundamental way. To get more of a taste, listen to LAMP director, Jennifer Kaye, on NPR's (90.1 FM) Art of the Matter this Saturday, Jan. 25, 4-5 p.m.;. Through Jan, 25; 317-722-0137. -Mary Lee Pappas