The Lived Body

Can I Keep You by Erin Canady

The Lived Body
Subverbal Collective

May 5-25, 2017
First Friday Reception: May 5, 6-10 pm

“My body is my point of view on the world not just another object in the world.”
-Merleau-Ponty

In this group exhibition six artists have chosen to engage with Merleau-Ponty’s notion of der Leib or the body as lived body. As a phenomenologist, Merleau-Ponty sought to describe the world of human experience and to describe the world as experience.

One essential structure of human existence for his view is the body. For Merleau-Ponty, the body was not merely an anatomical physical object in the world (der Körper) but a necessary part of the order and the structure of existence. It is how humans engage with the world and how knowledge is directly acquired. The body also organizes and structures our phenomenological knowledge of being a being-in-the-world.

In this exhibition we engage with this notion of the body in six unique ways.

SUBVERBAL COLLECTIVE IS AN ARTS COLLECTIVE BASED OUT OF THE RALEIGH/DURHAM AREA OF NORTH CAROLINA. FOUNDED IN 2016 BY SIX VISUAL ARTISTS WHO ARE CURRENT AND RECENT GRADUATES OF UNC'S MFA PROGRAM, SUBVERBAL SEEKS TO PROVIDE A SPACE FOR CRITIQUE, DIALOGUE, AND COMMUNITY. 

ULTRALIGHT

ULTRALIGHT

Exhibition run May 5-25, 2017

ULTRALIGHT is an exhibition of artwork about disability, created by artists living with disabilities. VAE is offering a platform for artists who identify as living with disabilities to take back the narrative that is so often controlled by the medical field, media, and stereotypes. ULTRALIGHT seeks to exhibit work that challenges the viewing public to leave their preconceived notions and sympathy at the door, and experience artwork that tells the real story of living disabilities and the current state of access. The exhibition breaks access into three parts: physical, communication, and attitude. 

Works and Artists
 

Theresa Devine Till Disability Do Us Part  
Ken Morgan New York School, Snake Charmer
Eduardo Lapetina Searching for the music in us
Brian Markuson Bees, My lips are sealed
David Adelman Elegy, Ability, and Glitch
Jeff Newell Entering the World, A Bird in the Hand
Shelby Scattergood  Blind Faith
Anthony Garcia-Copian Witches of Depression
Cary  Brief  Cat and mouse
Jean Shortall POLIO INDUCED INSOMNIA
King N. Godwin Me and my family are together “71”,  Hawaii is cool because there are starfish in the ocean
Mitchell Price Pirate Baseball
Evan Webster Future, No One Is Perfect
Luis Rosario Central Park
Jessica Baisey Incomplete
Darryl Johnson The Goddess Comforts the Blind
Wiley Johnson  Darnkness Streams
David Chadderton Mystical Infusion
Sherry Spencer  Out of the Woods,  Speak to Me

Awards

• 1st - Theresa Devine In Sickness And In Health
• 2nd - Shelby Scattergood  Popcorn
• 3rd - Eduardo Lapetina Where the intangible hovers
• Honorable Mention - Rea Rossi Cilia
• Honorable Mention - Heather Youngblood In my head.

Project Seed Grants Awardees

Darryl Johnson - 

Part One. “Beautifully Disabled”

In this piece I challenge traditional concepts of feminine beauty. For example is a disabled woman considered beautiful? I know the question can be considered “offensive”, but I believe it is valid. After all, when was the last time a beauty care or clothe advertisement featured a disabled woman. This piece will feature a beautiful disabled woman. 

Part Two. “Divine Suffering”

Typically when society sees someone with a physical disability we think of how much pain or suffering that individual must endure. Usually the topic ends there. I believe some types of pain have a nobler purpose. Christians see the suffering of Christ on the cross as being divinely inspired. Christians have taken the crucifixion, which was a common instrument of capital punishment at the time, and elevated it to a greater purpose that they believe was divinely inspired. I believe that the suffering that I must endure as a disabled person is divinely inspired. Perhaps my very practiced ability to bear some of my limitations teaches others humility or compassion. Maybe they become inspired and think "Me too- but the grace of God." Thus my disability becomes something greater. It is transfixed to that of noble teacher. 

Part Three. “The Goddess Comforts the Blind”

Social isolation and evil mockery are some of the hardest things my wife and I endure because of my disability. No matter where we go, naturally some places are better than others, when we are together we always hear, sometimes in a whisper other times in a shout "why oh why is she with him." Is she pretty but "stupid". Perhaps she "feels sorry for him because he's so low." Oh this whole thing must be some type of fraud. "Everyone knows that the pretty don't marry the blind."

Cary Brief- Life Under the Sea

Hand painted wood 3D cutouts exploring Life under and around the sea and humans' affect on it. Octopus, starfish, crabs and fish coral etc. They are large colorful, hand painted fun images that have multi layers and lots of depth coated in an epoxy for an intensifying effect. "I started this project in 2016 but due to  disability and a move I haven't been able to work on it as much as I'd like to." The funds will be used for materials so I can finish the project. 

 

Collective Behavior by Maggie Evans

Collective Behavior

Maggie Evans

ARTIST STATEMENT
Western art has long emphasized the uniqueness of each human being.  But beneath these independent identities and myths of rugged individualism lies our deep, intrinsic desire to be part of a group.  The group provides security and comfort, but it is also vulnerable to manipulative leadership, oppression of independent thought, and exclusion of those seen as “others.”

Using hundreds of simple, uniform chairs I create drawings and site-specific installations that examine this propensity towards collective behavior and its resulting power structures and homogeneity.  Uniformity and repetition are more important than individuality in my work.  Yet simultaneously, we are vaguely aware that each chair represents an individual.  Though reminiscent of organized, ritualistic gatherings, the specific purpose of the chairs remains undefined and irrelevant, further emphasizing the sheer ubiquity of our collective behavior.

BIO
Maggie Evans is an artist based in Savannah, Georgia.  Using drawing, painting and site-specific installation her work examines human collective behavior and the hierarchies, homogeneity and social divisions that result.  

Maggie’s work has been included in over fifty national and international juried exhibitions and a number of art publications including New American Paintings and Manifest Gallery’s INPA 6.  Artist residencies include The Hambidge Center for the Arts, Central Trak in Dallas, Texas and a full fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center.  In 2011 she was awarded a Chinese Government Scholarship that granted her ten months to develop new work at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, China.  She has had thirteen solo exhibitions and been invited to lecture on her work at a number of institutions including Indiana-Purdue University and the University of Texas, Dallas.

Maggie holds an MFA in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design (2008) where she is a part-time Professor of Foundation Studies.  In addition to her work as an artist, she performs regularly as a professional jazz singer and bassist.

Off Route Journals

Off Route Journals

presented by Betsy Peters Rascoe, Mike Cindric, & Sam Cox

Join us as we celebrate the unique people and landscapes of Eastern North Carolina.

April 7 - 27, 2017
Opening Reception: April 7, 6-10pm

Project Statement

North Carolina’s coastal plain has a fertile landscape and rich agricultural and cultural history. Yet, the counties between Interstate 95 and the coast remain a blank spot on many North Carolinians’ mental maps. Most experience the region as a blur of pine trees, fields, and gas stations as they rush towards the beach. What can we learn by slowing down and engaging Eastern North Carolina in a conversation on its own terms?

Click here to continue following the conversation on Facebook.

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Michael Bambuch / United Arts Council

Micheal Bambuch

United Arts Council - March 

   I'm not cool enough to talk about myself in the third person. I'm a photographer, original from the northeast(New Jersey and Massachusetts), that has landed in Apex, North Carolina.

    I shoot people. I love conceptual. I want my photos to be dynamic, to shape a perception, whatever you feel it might be. I do not have formulas and I never went to art school. I won't be able to explain or defend my work with gregarious themes and deeper meanings. I subscribe to the idea that you can just shoot something and like it. It doesn't have to go further than that. If you find something deeper, kudos, I've done something to elicit a response. I suppose that's what art is about? My photographic inspirations are Ritts, Lagrange, Blumenfeld, Wolf, Avedon and Walker. I don't think my work necessarily looks like their images, but they drive a lot of what I do.

e1ev1n I Warren Hicks

e1ev1n

Warren Hicks
February 22 - April 8
Artist talk, April 8, 1:11 pm

 ARTIST STATEMENT

In February 2015, I began documenting random observations of the times 1:11 and 11:11. They became too frequent to continue to ignore. Initially, I only made notations of the date of occurrence. Then I started capturing the occurrences with wallpaper screenshots on my phone, ultimately including elements of what was happening in my life as well.

My days are far from routine, so occurrences aren’t triggered subconsciously by repetition or location, but I do spend a lot of time on my phone. I don't cheat and wait for the time to come around. It has to be a random glance at a clock or phone or an event that happened or was captured at those times, to be included in this documentation project.

Eventually, these numbers began revealing themselves beyond the realm of visual time. One example is three addresses in Durham, NC that have significance in my life and are all located within one block of each other. They form an isosceles triangle as demonstrated on the map:

111 W. Parrish St. (original Carrack location - exhibitions)
111 Corcoran St. (21c Museum Hotel - exhibition installations)
111 W. Main St. (a close friend's apartment)

The result of this ongoing documentation is a self-portrait composed of time, events, locations, and professional and social interactions — all relative to the numbers 111 and 1111 — observed and recorded within a two-year period. The first recorded occurrence was February 12, 2015. The installation of this exhibition began on February 13, 2017. A total of 171 time captures to date are represented on the chalk wall.

FYI – The blue text bubbles in the message screenshots are my voice.

BIO

Warren Hicks is a visual and conceptual artist working in a variety of media including photography, video, sculpture, and installation. Hicks lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and works in his studio at Golden Belt in Durham.

Completely self-taught, Hicks' artistic evolution has been as unique as his personal revolution. Hicks has morphed through a progression of styles, mediums, and influences—embracing, digesting, and discarding. A restless experimenter with a keen sense of humor, he is constantly pushing himself into new ideas in visual art and in writing.

Born and raised in Chickasha, Oklahoma, Hicks studied architectural design at Oklahoma State University. Prior to graduation, he fled Oklahoma under cover of darkness to Miami, Florida to explore opportunities within the music industry. After twelve years of toil and slight hearing loss, Hicks returned to architectural drafting and relocated to Chapel Hill. In 2002, at the ripe age of 36, he began painting.

Although Hicks established himself as an abstract painter, his recent forays into photography and conceptual art have been well received. Hicks' work has been shown throughout the U.S. as well as in Beijing, China and Skopje, Macedonia.

When he isn't making his own art, Hicks is a freelance art preparator for museums and corporate art collections. Museum clients include: NC Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC; Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University, Durham, NC; CAM Raleigh, Raleigh, NC; Ackland Art Museum at UNC-Chapel Hill, NC. Some of the artists whose work has passed, but not slipped, through his hands include Picasso, Miro, Calder, El Greco, Rauschenberg, Van Gogh, Wangechi Mutu, Nick Cave, and El Anatsui.

interface I Ely Urbanski

interface

Ely Urbanski
February 3 - 23, 2017
Opening Reception: Friday, February 2, 6-10pm

Project Statement

I have been collecting clothes from friends, family and my previous exhibitions visitors. These clothes are the matrices for my monoprints on fabric. Most of the clothes have a story, they were worn for a long time, the person who owned the clothes had an emotional attachment to it, they only used them in special occasions, etc. What I noticed is that those clothes have one thing in common: they are stories of relationships. A material reminder of an interaction with a living person, with someone they missed or a particular situation in their lives.

I believe that what I transfer to the substrate (a piece of fabric, a reclaimed sheet) is not only the material image but also part of the memory|energy of the clothes and their owners|users.

Our bodies, like pieces of clothes come in different fashions, colors, patterns, but the invisible part of our beings are made of the same common raw material and manifests itself through our positive or negative actions.

As it is invisible, we may not notice it at first glance, but if we take the time to focus on a conversation, a story, actions|behaviors we may start seeing the character of a body. The same way, if you allow yourself to see the invisible part of my works you may picture the memories, the stories, the interface.

About Ely Urbanski

Born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil. Her father a photographer and her mother a dressmaker, influences seen in her works. Ely studied Art Education at the University of São Paulo where she studied with well-known printmaker Evandro Carlos Jardim.

From 1993-1995 she lived in Tokyo. Returning to São Paulo she started a series of works on fabrics, using sewing and drawing as an attempt to add trip memories and experiences to her prints.

From 2005-2011 she lived in Suzuka, Japan. During this period she developed a series of prints where the matrices were articles of clothing. Because of the lack of equipment, she used her own weight as the pressing instrument. During this time she participated in several group exhibitions and had her own solo show in Suzuka.

After the earthquake of 2011 in Japan, she decided to return to Brazil.
Back in Brazil and trying to rebuild her life she met her future husband online. In December of 2013, she arrived in North Carolina and became Ely Urbanski in January 2014.

Ely has been developing her art in Snow Camp, N.C. She creates prints on paper (monoprints, woodcuts).Other projects use clothes as matrices for her prints. Most of them are donations from friends or her exhibition visitors. Some of the donors participate in video recordings where they talk about the stories behind the clothes they donated. Interacting with the local community has been an important part of her creative process.
 

If you would like to participate in the exhibition, Ely Urbanski will be collecting clothes and recording interviews at VAE on the following dates:

2/4 (Sat) 12-4pm
2/8 (Wed) 3-6 pm
2/10 (Fri) 3-6 pm
2/11 (Sat) 12-3 pm
2/16 (Thu) 11am-3pm
2/18 (Sat) 12-4pm
2/22 (Wed) 11-2pm
2/23 (Thu) 3-6 pm

SEE ATTACHED / DEPTH / FLUSH

Triple Threat

January 6-26
First Friday (redo) January 13 6-10pm

For the month of January VAE will be showcasing three exhibitions in our Main Gallery. 

FLUSH

We invite all to come write their woes from the past year on some ultra-soft double ply and throw them down the toilet. It safe to say 2016 wasn't the best year for everyone. But in an effort to move on, to start anew, to carpe diem in 2017, we are flushing away the crap from 2016. 

DEPTH

VAE is showcasing the work of both our amazing 3D artist group and some of our past sculptors. VAE's Three-Dimensional Artist Group is a supportive network for artists who explore ideas and techniques and offer each other feedback. Artists are encouraged to bring a current work but are by no means obligated to. This group is open to anyone who works with a three-dimensional medium or would like to. All artists’ groups are free to VAE members and $5 for non-members.

The work included ranges from ceramics to game mods. 

See Attached

VAE will be going back in time to the early 1990s when the state of the art technology of the email attachment was invented. Since then it has changed information exchanges in a major way. 

Artists sent VAE emails with their work attached, and we have plastered our gallery with their art, and their emails.  

Dreams Deferred

Dreams Deferred  

A community art project inspired by Langston Hughes' poem, "Harlem"
Documented by Ariyah April & Veronique Moses  

January 6-26, 2017
Opening Reception: January 6th, 6-10pm
First Friday Do-Over: January 13th, 6-10pm

Artist Talk: January 21st, 11am
Join Ariyah & Veronique for a casual conversation with opportunities to ask questions of some of their photo subjects: Mr. Henry "Hank" Williamson; Lea Salas; Sonja Matheny; Tavi Hawn; Mark Alkins; and Anuragini Barman.

Harlem
by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-
like a syrup sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Project Statement:

Magic marked in ink are the uncurbed dreams of a child, “when I grow up, I want to be a doctor, fashion designer, track star, a mother.” Our dreams evolve as we move through life, some remaining constant and others fading into time. As an adult, we may reconcile that there are no gold medals on the shelves or open-heart surgeries on the calendar, but what happens to the elusive dream that remains close and fleeting?   

“Dreams Deferred,” titled from Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem,” is a photography-and writing-based storytelling project examining what becomes of a dream and the people behind them. It invites the viewer to bear witness externally, and to reflect internally. “Dreams Deferred” is a collaboration between two local photographers, Ariyah April and Veronique Moses, with the local community.   

In his poem “Harlem,” Hughes asks: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore—and then run?” April and Moses explore whether lifelong dreams chain us or lead us to hope.  

“Dreams Deferred” profiles six dreamers analyzing their own big wins and big losses. No matter the circumstances or perceived external differences between them— and the viewers— the gut-survival need for dreaming is evident. With thought on their own elusive dream, dreamers set out to answer Hughes’ poignant question and to further identify their dreams with one of the potential scenarios Hughes leave us with. Moses and April have posed their six dreamers in a dual documentary portraiture reflecting both the weight and hope of such dreams and visually inspecting Hughes’ six potential scenarios.  

Alongside the profiles, “Dreams Deferred” features an interactive and evolving installation collecting the community's contributions over the course of the exhibit. All visitors are encouraged to record their own dreams on a piece of the installation, allowing them to (anonymously or not) speak their truths, share and reaffirm them. The community art piece symbolizing dreams still in flight signifies our collective dreams and strikes a profound statement about interconnection.     

April and Moses are emerging documentary artists impassioned to continually share the stories of those whose voices often go unheard and undocumented. Their own experiences serve as the driving forces to expand this contextual lens aimed at frankly removing the perceived barriers around us.  

“Dreams Deferred” embody the same humility and servitude when it comes to depicting the realities of its dreamers. The hope is that participants leave the exhibit with insights into their fellow humankind, as well as a sparked ignition for driving their own lives.

Janet Coleman / Aloft on Hillsborough

Janet Coleman

January-March 

Animals, landscape, people, and objects are often common themes in my work.  By defining forms through a layering of texture and color, I search for the accidental image. These images often serve to guide the piece and ignite inspiration from memory, experience or dreams. 

Brian Davis "Elevation V2"

Elevation V2

December 21, 2016 - February 3, 2017
First Friday Receptions: January 13 (Do-Over) & February 3, 2017 6-10pm

Brian Davis lives and works in Northern Virginia. Born in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, Mr. Davis was raised in Guam and South Carolina. He has taught New Media and Sculpture at The George Washington University and American University. Mr. Davis has a B.F.A in General Studio from Winthrop University and an M.F.A in Sculpture from the University of Florida.

From his roots of skateboarding and playing guitar for a punk band in the Deep South, he has embraced the D.I.Y. aesthetic. These social and creative endeavors, activities like organizing punk shows and collective ramp building, led to an interest in sculpture, video art, and to the current work that explores connectivity, interaction, and the possibilities of effecting change in the surrounding world.

Davis’ artistic practice is varied and experimental and includes elements of public sculpture, multimedia installation, and virtual applications. His work and research explores cross-discipline techniques and practices to exploit the medium’s connection to the viewer and the surrounding space. While focusing on viewer experience, Davis also strives to create a dialogue with the history of sculpture and video art.

Elevation V2 is a multipart installation consisting of a variety of interconnected elements. The central element is a tripod structure on which two segments if a wooden chair are propelled towards the ceiling of the gallery space. The mechanism that propels the chair segments upward is controlled by a gallery visitor who must stare intently at their own disappearing image in a computer monitor. Only while this person is actively interfacing with the monitor will the mechanism continue to operate; as soon as the connection is broken, the chair separates and is guided back to the gallery floor. While the work is active, the interfacing individual cannot view the active space behind them.

George Gregory / Open Gallery at Red Hat

Pixel-ed by George Gregory 

My production process often leaves me with scraps of wood that are too small to incorporate into my work, but too big to throw away. I find myself saving these scraps for potential use in the future. After much deliberation, I found myself dipping these scraps into acrylic paint and laminating them together. This process was the inspiration for Pixel-ed.

Pixel-ed is made out of 14 sheets of ¾” pine plywood. I spent about 20 hours on the table saw ripping the plywood into 1 ½” strips. It took 6272 cuts on the miter saw to cut the strips into varying lengths. I dipped these pieces into 33 different colors of acrylic paint and laminated these pieces into 63 total units.
 

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am inspired by personal narrative from my childhood, adolescent and adult relationships. Since childhood, I have embraced materials considered part of the arts and crafts world. It is a way for me to combine my childhood experiences of crafting with my Grandmother and spending time with my carpenter Father while he worked. The materials they used in combination reveal the tensions between low art and high art. Through their use with form, I am leveling the playing field.

The relationship between hard and soft plays an important role in my work. This is demonstrated through the materiality of fiber and wood. My material choices and processes reference my experiences with lost relationships. I pay homage to my Father and Grandmother by incorporating the same materials that played a part in my childhood. Creating a delicate balance.

GIMME LOCAL SHOPPE

Gimme Local Shoppe

November 7- December 21, 2016
Opening Reception: November 7, 6-10 pm & December 2, 6-10 pm

Taking over The LAB for two months, our launch artists and few special guests have created a shopping wonderland filled with free-range, locally-sourced, handmade wares by Amy Draws, Bird & Beau, Chocolate Chippy, Curtis Blake Leather, Dave Greway Designs, Elena Caron, Eliza Campbell Kiser, EmoJugs, Found Folk, Gretchen Quinn, Haden Designs, Melsie Glass, Little Lovelies Studio, Liz Kelly Pottery, Mimi Logothetis, Pedestrian, Porch Fly Clothing, Redden Goods, Sunday Shift, and Woodcrafty!

ANNUAL HOLIDAY EXHIBITION

November 9th – December 21, 201
Main Gallery

The Annual Holiday Exhibition features work by VAE members at a price range that is perfect for gift giving! Come in to see and purchase works under $300 for all of your holiday needs.

DECK THE GALLERY

November 9th – December 21, 201
Main Gallery

It's time to decorate for the holidays. Unfortunately, Brandon dropped the box of ornaments, when we were putting the decorations away...in March, and broke them all.

So, we asked our creative community to make beautiful ornaments for all of your holiday needs! Come by this season to pick up the perfect decoration for your home, or the perfect gift for a friend!

See Attached

VAE will be going back in time to the early 1990s when the state of the art technology of the email attachment was invented. Since then it has changed information exchanges in a major way. It also opened doors for an arts organization to receive and accept submissions, free to both artists and organizations, it has allowed for the growth and opportunity.

DEPTH

January 6-26, 2017
Main Gallery
VAE will be showcasing the fantastic works created by our Three Dimensional Artist Group in the upcoming exhibition, DEPTH.

VAE's Three Dimensional Artist Group is a supportive network for artists who explore ideas and techniques and offer each other feedback. Artist are encouraged to bring a current work, but are by no means obligated to. This group is open to anyone who works with a three dimensional medium or would like to. All artists’ groups are free to VAE members and $5 for non-members.

Evan Reed: Architecture for the Inclement

October 26 - December 3, 2016
The Cube
First Friday Receptions: November 4 & December 2, 6-10pm
Join us for Evan's artist talk Saturday, December 3 at 11am

THE EXHIBITION
Walking to the subway after a quick and violent early spring thunderstorm, I began to notice among the usual, post-deluge, debris a multitude of discarded umbrellas piled around garbage bins and left near the station entrance. Maybe it’s always this way after a storm but my attention focused in on what seemed an inordinate amount of the things. The scene made an impression on me and with it my scavenger impulse had me gathering up all the cast off umbrellas I could carry. Later I found most were damaged in some way by the strong winds that had accompanied the downpour. Riding in a crowded train I awkwardly juggled the armful of umbrellas. My soggy treasure presented me conspicuously and earned me looks from the other commuters.

That experience informed the creation of Architecture for the Inclement.  I fantasized a structure made through the resourcefulness of one seeking basic protection from the elements. Rummaging the streets to create an eccentric, visionary nest. Several early attempts to create the form by sewing or lashing the umbrellas together proved to be weak or too impractical. Eventually my research for creating portable structures led me to plans for a geodesic dome structure. This construction technique was popularized by American theorist and designer Buckminster Fuller. Early explorations for using the geodesic design came to him during his time teaching at Black Mountain College. He later served as President of Synergetics Inc., a dome building construction firm based in Raleigh.  Fuller was interested in designs that could benefit humanity. The geodesic dome was one solution for achieving a lightweight, strong, and affordable shelter. For my humble and pragmatic purposes the triangular grid-work allowed a flexible way to configure and attach umbrellas. The form is also easy to dismantle and store. The marriage of the umbrella, which is basically a handheld, pop-up shelter, with Fuller’s visionary geodesic structure made sense for the sculptures design but also feeds its meaning and interpretation.

THE ARTIST
Evan Reed was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and has lived throughout the United States. Currently he resides in Falls Church, Virginia and teaches sculpture and three-dimensional design at Georgetown University in Washington. D.C. He has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally. His work is in several private collections and he has received grants to assist his studio work through Georgetown University, The Franz and Virginia Bader Foundation and the Fairfax County Commission for the Arts. His artwork focuses on creating objects that utilize the familiar but aim to transport the viewer beyond mundane experiences and encounters.  He develops forms by collecting and exploring the properties of material, many of which are discarded items, sourced from his community. The works pull from a variety of visual references including architectural forms, modes of transportation, and tools. His work is concerned with themes of Spirituality, History, Place, and Humor.

Marie Leabo-Arondeau / HagerSmith PA

Into the Light

October - November 2016
First Friday Receptions: October 7 & November 4, 6-9pm
300 S Dawson Street (just around the corner from VAE)

ARTIST STATEMENT
Photography is my vehicle of self-expression and an invaluable creative outlet for me. There are so many things that inspire me to photograph: how light outlines the veins on a leaf, or the curve of a shoulder, documenting a moment, or a place. Sometimes it’s about lines and shapes and color. But mostly it’s about noticing things that often go unnoticed, or seeing old things in a new way. The ability to freeze moments, recreate experiences and provoke emotions has always been intriguing to me and continues to inspire me to shoot.

An abundance of light, a scarcity of light, how light defines the subject, how light is the subject, how light and subject get together and boogie a bit. Into the Light is a celebration of all of these things.

Please step Into the Light…

THE LAB: Separation & In Between

Separation & In Between
Jan-Ru Wan
accompanied by Jody Casselly + Jude Casseday

October 7-27, 2016
Opening Reception: October 7, 6-10 pm

Our hair is highly personal and yet universal. Hair is a marker of our identity—of our current self and of our desired self in that it can easily be altered in color and style. Hair is part of our body and yet we purposefully dispose of it, leaving behind pieces and strands in public places like barbershops and salons.

For over two years Jan-Ru Wan gathered discarded hair from salons around the world (Arnhem, Netherlands; Taipei, Taiwan; Cary, Durham, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina) to create this installation, which speaks to global migration and culture.

Separation can refer to the hair physically separated from our body or to the emotional separation from our love ones. It can also refer to the separation from our past cultural identity that occurs when we are immersed in the global melting pot. 

Here, DNA from countless hair samples from strangers across the globe have been combined by chance and stitched into printed silk pouches. Within each pouch, one person’s DNA intermixes with others, blending numerous identities into one piece to represent this global and confusing world.

For my late father: The moment you left me our identities and destinies changed. We now have infinite space in between us, a constant that pushes us apart and yet draws close our hearts. The moment you separated from my body you took on a new adventure and a new identity, but here I am without you, my old memories combining with fresh ones.