Stone heavens

The Art Foundry Gallery, located at 1021 R Street, is displaying stone sculptures by Alan Shepp during April. But, if you look at a calendar, you’ll notice that April is over. Fortunately, this show, entitled Nine Heavens, is up until May 3. Shepp has studied and taught all over the world and knows a thing or three about the art-making process. He started as a painter; later, he transitioned to making kinetic light sculptures. Then he switched to stone, and this is where he seems at home. These large, mostly bas-relief pieces are meticulously created with attention to every line and texture, intentional or otherwise. The juxtaposition of organic and manmade shapes is executed in a fluid manner that only an artist with the background of Shepp could create. What’s really transcendent about these sculptures, though, is their mass and enveloping feel. They overtake you, and you can’t take your eyes away.