Artworks Are Music to the Ears : Reseda: Greg Bernath’s gourd-like drums, on exhibit at the Vortex gallery, can be viewed as either sculptures or percussion instruments.

Greg Bernath’s first exhibit opens tonight at the Vortex gallery in Reseda. Having secured a debut, the young artist has been struggling with an entirely different dilemma: what to call his art.

The roundish concoctions function as ceramic sculptures and as percussion instruments.

“I’ve shown them to some people who told me that, if it’s a drum, it’s not worth as much as if it’s a sculpture,” the 24-year-old artist-musician said. “So I came up with the term ‘percussive ceramic sculpture.’ ”

The exhibit, “Textural Intercourse,” will be a little bit aesthetic, a little bit auditory. A dozen or so of Bernath’s pieces will be on display for a month, and on several occasions during that span, he will offer musical performances by tapping and drumming on his pieces.

“I definitely think it’s art,” said Melody Cooper, who runs the gallery. “The shapes appeal to me. Very organic.”

Indeed, the works are gourd-like--fashioned with rough and smooth surfaces, adorned with curved appendages, and finished in natural hues of brown, green and black.

By the same token, when struck with a skilled hand, they produce a variety of percussive sounds. Alternately slapping with an open palm and tapping with his fingers, Bernath can coax out of these creations anything from high-pitched metallic pings to deep plops , like drops of water striking a pool.

“They fluctuate,” Bernath said of his drums. “If the weather is cold or damp, they go down in pitch.”

His interest in these percussive things arose from a purely musical perspective. Bernath played standard drum kits for pop bands in high school. Later, when he joined a band that already had a drummer, he began experimenting with congas and other forms of percussion.

Then he saw a traditional Nigerian udu drum, made of fired clay, in a music shop and was intrigued.

His first creation was rounded with a wide hole at the top. Using glue along the edges, he stretched a skin over the opening. The resulting instrument sounded great, he said.

“I thought from there I could do anything,” he said. “I started experimenting with the shapes and had a few failures. I ended up coming back to the first design.”

As part of the Plaster Pie Percussion Ensemble, Bernath joins several other musicians in playing his creations. They have performed at the Common Grounds coffeehouse in Northridge, and will play at Vortex tonight, Saturday and on Feb. 29.

In addition, Bernath bangs his pottery with the jazz band Kupa Gachi, which he says is Ukrainian for “pile of underpants.” Kupa Gachi will perform Saturday on the same bill with Plaster Pie.

Now a student majoring in art at Cal State Northridge, Bernath has perhaps a greater appreciation for his instruments as art.

“When I was starting out, I was just trying to figure how to use the clay, making it so it wouldn’t crack and getting the sounds I wanted,” he said. “Then I started working on the shape. After you make it sound good, you can make it visually interesting as well.”

And, with his works priced at up to $400, he’ll charge accordingly.

Vortex is at 18433 Sherman Way, Reseda. “Textural Intercourse” opens at 7 tonight and continues through Feb. 29. Concerts will be at 8 p.m. Saturday and Feb. 29. The gallery is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. Free. Call (818) 881-1654.