At least 25 percent of seasonal gift cards purchased in the United States each year are for Valentine’s Day, according to the Greeting Card Association, while more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold on Cupid’s behalf, says the National Confectioners Association. Necco — manufacturer of Sweethearts — claims it peddles over eight billion conversation hearts every year. And the California Cut Flower Commission maintains that 189 million stems of roses are gifted in February. What’s it all mean? Optimists would say we’re sweet. Cynics will swear we’re suckers.

Skip the overpriced dinner this weekend and decide for yourself by attending Sugar/Sugar, a juried photography exhibit that explores the contrast between the sweet and the sickly. “When we juried the show, we looked at the sentimental aspects of sugar and the darker, more gluttonous aspects of love,” says Colorado artist Clare Charles Cornell. “So the show’s kind of a dichotomy. It will be interesting to see how people react to it. I think we’ll challenge the viewer to think about what sugar and love are.”

Organized by Working With Artists and co-juried by off-the-street amateur Jon Hostager, the show features more than forty images and opens today with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. at FLASH Gallery, 445 South Saulsbury Street in Lakewood’s Belmar. The show continues through March 29; Hours are 12 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 12 to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call 303-837-1341 or log on to www.workingwithartists.org.
Feb. 13-March 29, 2009