Where Intimacy Flowers: "Tiny Universe" is my favorite kind of group show: unexpected, concise and conspicuously rowdy in its tonal shifts. Currently on display in the Main Gallery of UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art, the exhibition brings together a handsome handful of diminutive, wall-based works with a formal emphasis on drawing and a loose ideological thread with its landscape-based theme. Rarely have I seen such a reductive use of the space: one’s immediate impression upon entering the gallery is shock at the large expanses of blank walls, punctuated by tight clusters of each of the six artists’ work. It’s a bold move by guest curator Elliot Walters, whose spare installation would diminish tremendously the impact of work less impeccably chosen. Mercifully, this is far from the case, as "Tiny Universe" affords much needed breathing room for intimacy to flower.

I was immediately drawn to the dense abstractions of South Dakota-based artist Diana Behl, whose lyrical pair of drawings straddle gesture and precision. "March," a handsome panel piece, hinges upon a galloping movement of transparent acrylic washes that politely lead viewers from left to right through a haze of hatched graphite, cut paper and (deceptively) haphazard ink stains. It’s like looking at smoke like a boyfriend. It’s like ordering tapas and receiving oblivion in a silver dish. It’s the kind of piece you want to snatch off the wall, shove in your bag and walk quickly towards the door with, hoping nobody notices. Next door, seven of Atlanta-based Andy Moon Wilson’s tightly wound works on paper form networks of varying continuity, exposing the word “drawing” as the noun and the verb that it truly is. Haptic, manic and far from easy, Wilson’s marks vibrate on their respective pages like chords on a pair of strings. Across the way, Atlanta-based Scott Ingram’s reductive architectural paintings ease up the tension, but by only slight degrees. Ingram’s rigorous elimination of extraneous fact yields precisely constructed scenarios of form that somehow feel both specific and universal at the same time. Look, this is a great show; get yourself out there. On view through Aug. 3.

Same Song, Different Instrument: Terry Rowlett’s paintings do not disappoint. "Terra Infirma," his last exhibition in Athens, brought together some old favorites with more recent gems. I’m a big fan of Rowlett, whose paintings do much to humanize and localize some of the oldest stories around. The six generously scaled narrative works recently on view at Ciné were quick to grab one’s attention, and stay with the viewer long after the show was over. As usual, Rowlett’s handling of his medium is in top form, bordering on the surgical in its honed precision. Rowlett’s project updates biblical themes and parables by composing subtly theatrical scenes with portraits of locals as their key players. In Terry’s world, the man from the bike shop becomes “King of the Swimming Hole” (see the May 30 Flagpole cover), a local actress plays the role of a saint. "The Pilgrim’s Progress," a newer work, sets its lone, elderly traveler with a trio of dogs against a backdrop of a curiously manicured desert landscape, fringed at its edges with lush greenery—an oasis in reverse. "The Holy Family," one of the largest works, is an ingeniously reversible diptych that shifts its own story through subtle reorganization of form.

On the Horizon: If you’ve ever received a letter-pressed invitation or handled a book printed and bound by hand, you may be familiar with the unique type of love that Smokey Road Press brings to each of its projects. Fronted by former UGA professor and artist Margot Ecke (whose work is collected nationally and has been featured by Martha Stewart), Smokey Road is one of the newest additions to a thriving and growing print community right here in Athens. In January of 2013, Ecke will relocate her top-notch shop into the Leathers building on Pulaski Street, where Smokey Road will begin operations as a print and design studio, as well as a community center for letterpress and bookbinding courses. Ecke’s ambitious business model includes the production and editioning of artist prints, a residency program with an international scope, and a rotating cast of local and visiting artists who will serve as instructors in the studio.

A fine art press based in Georgia is a gap in great need of filling since the unfortunate closing of Nexus Press in 2003, and Margot—who comes to the project with a wealth of experience and infectious enthusiasm—is just the lady to pull it off. Smokey Road is currently in the process of some guerrilla fundraising through Kickstarter, and I highly recommend any and all interested parties (this means you!) to check out her project and dig deep for support. A paltry $125 gets you one of the first six of Smokey Road Press’ gorgeous letter-pressed works on paper, contributed by an all-star cast of Shelley DiCello, Libby Black, Ian Hagarty, Erika Adams, Moon Jang Jung and Kelli Sinner. For more information, and to make a donation of any size, visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/539840752/six-letterpress-printed-artist-editions-by-smokey.