Art Capsule Reviews

La Visión de la Virgen All of the art she has inspired is proof enough that the Virgin Mary descended from heaven in 1531 to talk to a Mexican boy. Every year, the Mattie Rhodes Gallery exhibits the divine evidence. Artists send work from all parts of the country (this year, two of the contributors reside in a state prison in Ohio); most of it consists of reverential portraits that blend Aztec, Catholic, Mexican and American imagery. José Faus plunges deepest with his oil and acrylic "La Ni'a y la Santa Maria," in which the Mary, wearing traditional, pre-Colombian clothing, looks anxious as a Spanish caravel is rising behind her — many of the Europeans who already believe in the Virgin Mary won't recognize her face among the natives. An addition to this year's show is Susan Dodd: Apparitions: Keeping Company with the Niño Queen. Dodd makes assemblages and collages consistent with the gallery's Marian theme. Apart from "Age of Reason," which rehashes, for the billionth time, an ironic portrait of a pious Catholic girlhood, Dodd's work is surprisingly theological. "Kingpin" uses a miniature bowling alley to toy with freedom, fate and guardian angels. In "Annunciation," a plastic figurine Madonna receives the hallowed message from the angel Gabriel, and the sundry symbols surrounding her are worth exploring. Through Jan. 20 at the Mattie Rhodes Art Gallery, 915 W. 17th St., 816-221-2349. (S.R.)