The Top 10 Fringe-iest Pieces at Visual Fringe

The Top 10 Fringe-iest Pieces at Visual Fringe

What defines the Orlando Fringe festival?

Each Fringe enthusiast might have a different definition, but to me Fringe encompasses the touching, the uncensored and the avant garde. These things can be found not only across the many performance spaces of Fringe, but also in at Visual Fringe, an art gallery that graces the Orlando Shakespeare Theater lobby. Here are 10 of its Fringe-iest pieces.

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1. “Choir,” sculpture by Karyl Young
Many of Fringe’s most incredible works of theater involve music, so this sculpture of a choir is definitely Fringe-worthy. The contorted faces and stretched body proportions give it an odd and unsettling feel.

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2. “Fitzgerald in Paris,” painting by Elizabeth Davis
A stunning portrait of one of the most influential and enigmatic writers in American history. Fringe is sometimes just as powerful and often more mysterious.

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3. “Queen of Diamonds,” mixed media work by Carmen Berfield
This work reminds me of a lone actor standing on a dark stage before the lights come up. The darkness and isolation evoked by this piece relate to the several one-woman and one-man shows at this year’s Fringe, where actors must take the stage alone in the dark before their performances begin.

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4. “Brittany,” painting by Jack Void
Fringe is a festival full of surprises and messages that aren’t obvious at first glance. In “Brittany,” nothing appears quite as it seems and everything has a hidden double meaning.

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5. “Holding it Together,” sculpture by Karl Young
This sculpture, which appears to be based on an actual photo of me during finals week, presents an interesting caricature of an unstable life.

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6. “En Pointe,” mixed media work by Lisa Ikegami
This abstract depiction of a ballet dancer on a fiery and bold background combines two key aspects of Fringe: dedicated performance and courageous passion.

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7. “Girl Power,” mixed media work by Juliana Davidson Ross
Fringe is all about breaking boundaries and shattering stereotypes, so this declaration of feminine strength is fitting.

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8. “Gold,” painting by Shosh C
Sometimes you walk out of a Fringe show thinking, “What on Earth did I just watch?” This painting is a bit like that: stunning, yet perplexing.

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9. “Major Arcana The Emperor,” mixed media work by Lisa Dunlap
Throughout Fringe, emotions (and bodies) are laid bare time and time again. The vulnerability channeled by the emperor’s skinless body and the daggers pointed at it relate to the vulnerability of the actor on stage.

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10. “Drip #1,” digital photography on acrylic by Caulfield Leslie
Fringe is often abstract and diverse, and sometimes pushes the boundaries of theater performance so far that it’s hard to recognize. This outline of a woman is like the framework of the theater that Fringe’s artists work within. They paint within that framework so boldly and colorfully, and it makes Fringe a truly unforgettable and original experience.

Check out all of our 2016 Orlando Fringe coverage here!

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