As a furniture maker, Peter Leue is exacting and precise.
As a sculptor, he’s a little more relaxed, creating whimsical and fun pieces.
They’re kind of my toys, said Leue, of Albany.
One of Leue’s most elaborate toys will be on display at the Albany Center Gallery beginning Friday, Jan. 2. That’s when the exhibit `Then and Now` opens. It includes `Musical Chairs,` Leue’s sculpture consisting of 20 stools attached to a reed organ. Each stool is painted white or black, representing a note. When someone sits on one, the organ plays the corresponding note.
Years ago, Leue got parts and pieces of two reed organs with no real idea of what he was going to do with them. Around the same time, he helped do some work on the organ at his church, and he was inspired to put together `Musical Chairs.`
`It just kind of came to me all of a sudden,` he said, noting that chairs are `inviting.`
The piece didn’t come together quite as quickly. In fact, Leue has spent about eight years working on it.
`It’s the largest sculpture I’ve ever done,` he said.
Leue envisions one day having 10 people, representing 10 fingers, sitting and standing to play a real song on Musical Chairs. He would have loved to do it at the `Then and Now` opening reception, but he figured it would be a little too chaotic.
`It simply won’t be heard,` he said with a laugh.
But he’s working with a friend through his church to compose a piece that he hopes to have performed on `Musical Chairs.` Then he’ll have a video to post on the Internet, which he hopes might someday attract the attention of a buyer.
In the meantime, anyone who visits `Musical Chairs` at the Albany Center Gallery is invited to take a seat and see what happens. The show runs through Feb. 7.
In addition to Leue, `Then and Now` features artists Channing Lefebvre and Terry Slade. Like Leue, Lefebvre’s work in the show, `Associations,` was shaped by whimsy. He’ll exhibit about 20 large-format drawings that `aren’t based on anything in particular.`
Instead, Lefebvre simply sat down in front of a blank canvas and started to draw. It’s a concept that he first tried when he needed to submit a print for a show and wasn’t sure what to exhibit. His wife suggested that he just put pen to paper and see what happens.
`I’ve always been just sort of drawing and doodling,` Lefebvre, of Latham, said. `She said, ‘Why don’t you just start drawing?’`
It might sound daunting, but Lefebvre said there’s a `large intuitive element` that guides the pieces.
`The drawing will tell me which way to go,` he said.
In the span of about a year, he created roughly 100 of the drawings. Some are in ballpoint pen; some are in gel pen.
They’re open to interpretation, he said. It’s not uncommon for people to look at one of his drawings and tell him `it looks like this or that.`
That’s fine with Lefebvre. `I’m not trying to tell people what they are,` he said.
He typically doesn’t frame his drawings. Those in the `Then and Now` show will simply hang from clips on the wall, which Lefebvre thinks creates a certain intimacy despite the drawings’ size ` some are as large as 38-by-50 inches.
`Then and Now` runs from Jan. 2 to Feb. 7 at the Albany Center Gallery, 39 Columbia St., Albany. The gallery is open from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday or by appointment. Call 462-4775 for information.“