In need of a title for his solo show based on tolerance and community, openly gay painter Jim Dryden went to a verse from a historic Christian poet and preacher.
"I Am Not an Island" traces a literary path back to John Donne's "Meditation XVII" and its eloquent call for the universal brotherhood of mankind ("every man is a part of the continent, a part of the main"). Wisely avoiding political effrontery, Dryden focuses instead on the two themes of Donne's verse: religious piety and patchwork togetherness. In his portraits of generic everymen, jewel-like colors invoke the reverence of church iconography, and a piecey composition suggests a tolerance for different tones -- both in paint and skin pigments.
If there's a danger at all in Dryden's uplifting solo exhibition, it will come in the form of an overly didactic vibe. (Free opening reception 6-9 p.m. Saturday 03/15.)
