Ed Atkeson's puppets on display at Albany Center Gallery

The puppets on display should be familiar to many in the Capital Region because they come from productions at various venues, such as 2010's "Ubu Rex" at Steamer No. 10 in Albany; "The Man at the Controls" at Tess's Lark Tavern in Albany (2007) and the Arts Center of the Capital Region and the Cultural and Chapel Center, both in Troy (2008); and 2004's "Right in the Oval Office" at the now-defunct Firlefanz Gallery on Lark Street in Albany, which Atkeson ran with his wife, Cathy Frank.

What the gallery experience allows is an up-close examination of the puppets that wouldn't be possible during a production, when the puppets are being moved by puppeteers and the "fourth wall" of the stage separates viewers.

The George W. Bush puppet from "Right in the Oval Office," which was written by Gene Mirabelli, doesn't try to look exactly like the former president.

[...] it suggests him with cheeks wider than the forehead, eyes too close together and brows raised in something like surprise or uncertainty or confusion, and mouth open as if he's about to say something or stumble through some speech.