‘Be’s Interestin’ Times’ opens dialogues at Gallery Onesixsix

By Vanessa Maciel

Las Vegas Optic

It’s “interestin’ times,” and artist Dia Atman hopes to capture them in his latest collection of art made of recycled wood, colored pencils and ink.

Atman’s art exhibit, “Be’s Interestin’ Times,” opened at Gallery Onesixsix, located at 166 Bridge St., on June 13 and will be shown until Aug. 9.

Most of the artwork in the exhibit was made with recycled wood pallets, Atman said, and some pieces feature the occasional coyote skull or snakeskin. In almost all of the pieces, the natural shape and details of the piece of wood help tell the story. Knots in the wood, for example, often become eyes; cracks become mouths, hands or fingers.

Atman said that the idea to create art from the wood pallets came to him when he was using such pallets for firewood.

“I would occasionally find interesting pieces of wood that would suggest imagery,” he said. This found imagery then became dialogue. Most recently, however, Atman said he has developed ideas for dialogue and then found imagery that fits with the words.

The “dialogue” of the art pieces is evident in his artwork’s titles, such as “‘The Discussion’: Siblings and their Disagreeable Squablings,” which is four faces that appear to be arguing with one another.

“I look at what’s going on in the world and I try to find the humor in it,” Atman said. “Because … if we’re not laughing, usually, we’re crying.”

Atman’s work also includes furniture, such as cabinets, coffee tables and benches.

A self-taught artist, Atman said he acquires wood pallets from local stores and lumberyards.

“I try to eliminate waste in the process of my art,” he said of using pallets. “I felt like I was helping keep the environment clear, rather than having the wood go to a landfill.”