A kaleidoscope of sooty-black butterflies bursts forth in a sinuous curl in this sculptural work by Paul Villinski (b. York, Maine, 1960). The artist is best-known for his large-scale installations of butterflies made from recycled materials, mostly from aluminum cans. Like most traditional fables, Villinski’s work contains a touch of magic. Tellingly, the artist refers to the butterfly’s physical creation from base metal as ‘alchemy,’ the medieval idea of the transformation of matter. The idea of the beer can as a vehicle for intoxication and transformation has a powerful meaning for an artist, like Villinski, recovering from addiction. The distressed surface of the cans, compressed against asphalt or the tires of trucks can be seen upon close inspection, traces of their modest origins before being “upcycled” into pieces of dazzling beauty. Musical instruments have long been an integral part of Villinski’s oeuvre. Many of his butterflies emerge from guitars or phonographs, their butterflies carved from the vinyl of vintage recordings. Fable is among Villinski’s finest worksthe composition is perfectly and delicately balanced, the swirl of the insects offset by the curves of the instrument. The charred body of the cello becomes a wooden chrysalis, and the endpin of the instrument, a jabbing punctuation keeping the whole sculpture afloat. How many angels can stand on the head of a pin?