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Current Exhibitions
"This past year has, for most of us, profoundly changed our relationship with physical space, especially the formerly safe space of home. Homes for some have become unbearably confining, for some uncertain or nonexistent and for others a desolate empty place to grieve. Natural and man-made disasters have destroyed others, leaving the inhabitants only sad scraps and distorted debris. My work considers this emotional and physical devastation created by the loss of home. Home is where our most basic human needs - nourishment, rest, and safety - are supposed to be met. When these are lost we are set adrift, grieving for security and permanence. This is "hiraeth" a Welsh word for a profound homesickness for a home you can't return to, or that may have never existed. Much of the horror evoked by natural and man-made disasters comes down to this basic fear. Many of my drawings and sculptures formally involve images of homes beyond repair; structures collapsing, burning, ripping, tearing, falling. I draw homes because they ae us; the places where we can be the most real and where we can dream in peace." ~ Susan Emmerson
Specifically feeble and precisely precarious, Lisa Walcott's work translates elements of daily life. Moods, guilt, sensations, monotony, accumulation and change are given bodies in objects and movement. Spaces of the mind are realized in physical form and daydreams animated. Up close and in combination they begin to represent the fluidity and contradictions of the everyday. The task of locating and giving form to shapeless sensations like presence, agitation or what it feels like to be full after eating will eventually fail because these feelings can never quite be manifested. However, there is often something more desirable in the always-absent compared to the attainable. The attempt to find shape and materiality for these abstract ideas involves collecting, combining, squinting, and meandering forward. The works are as energetic as they are visual--agitation buzzes overhead as a housefly and presence unexpectedly gurgles from an unknown space. In many cases, the objects feel essential, like they couldn't be anything besides what they are--their physicality is vital for them to hold their position and their essence is what the work is about. There is a sense of balance that is n the verge of being lost as joints are precarious and elements within the pieces are codependent--everything has a place for now. ~ Lisa Walcott
Brandt GALLERy
PATHWAYS, Nichole Gronvold Roller/David Linneweh/Megan Hinds
April 23 - June 4, 2021
Brandt Gallery
Nichole Gronvold Roller creates ambiguous spaces that possess an unpredictable gravity or no gravity at all. She constructs these spaces with vortexes, fragmented planes, and energy pathways borrowed from both human-made and natural systems. Her shaped canvases explore the material, geographical, and cultural influences of architectural design.
David Linneweh’s work reflects on the idea of the American Dream, asking if its tenets are based on illusion or reality. He begins with photographs of suburban streets, which are then printed and transferred over a wood veneer. Layers of graphite and paint serve to emphasize or flatten compositional elements, resulting in images that are altered and weathered by time.
Megan Hinds explores ecosystems and architecture in her three-dimensional prints, drawing inspiration from beehives to human cities. Her layered compositions provide opportunities for visual exploration and discovery, with camouflage and chaos giving way to organized focal points.
Armstrong Gallery
ONCE REMOVED, Jim Neeley & Wayne Bertola
April 23 - June 4, 2021
Armstrong Gallery
Due to the COVID-19 no public reception will occur
The three-dimensional constructions Jim Neeley builds press him to think like a graphic designer, use his hands like a finish carpenter, and obsess over the details. His inspirations are numerous and varied. The iconic design and culture of the 1970s. Bird’s-eye views of the rural landscape where he cycles. High/low architecture, studied wherever he travels. Quirky things, irreverent things. Unrelated bits and pieces such as local found objects and recycled stuff that he re-imagines and reorganizes into meticulous, elegant tableaus, all neatly contained in handmade boxes. Superfluous details of the objects he incorporates into these pieces are “erased,” leaving just the essence of mundane elements. For the observer, he hopes that his work pings a distant recollection, conjures a smile, and also inspires a bit of self-indulgence.
Wayne Bertola combines found objects and images—the discarded debris of the once-functional and the most humble of materials—in a way that demonstrates their capacity to transform. Recontextualized, the objects engage the viewer in a creative dialogue of association, allusion, and reverie beyond the limitations of the utilitarian and preconceived notions of what is worthy of notice and what constitutes value.
Dolan Gallery
PUNCTUATION: 35 YEARS OF DIABETIC DEBRIS, Karl Smith
April 23 - June 4, 2021
Dolan Gallery
Karl Smith’s still life photos utilize the medical supplies he personally used to treat his diabetes since he was a teen. The debris includes hundreds of syringes, insulin bottles, glucose testers and supplies, and hospital wrist bands. More recently, the series shifted to photographs of his life after receiving kidney and pancreas transplants, including photographs of his organ donor’s family.
