…with long silver streaks that looked like scaffolding and depth on depth behind it were thousands of stars that all seemed to be moving very slowly as if they were about some vast construction work that involved the whole universe and would take all time to complete…” ― Flannery O’Connor
“When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them…
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself, …
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.” – Walt Whitman
I am a participating artist in this city-wide art exhibition Windows of Understanding.
The vision for this public art project is to transform our “main street” spaces into literal windows of understanding; spaces in which the community can learn about the positive strides being made by local organizations around a wide array of social justice issues that don’t make daily headlines. Windows of Understanding is a creative, community-building response to the negativity and hate being perpetuated in today’s media landscape. Our belief is that through visual language, artists can communicate methods of understanding in powerful ways that cut across cultural boundaries.
In this second iteration of the project, over 30 non-profit organizations will be paired with an artist facilitator to create an original work of art that answers the question: “How do we see through hate?”. The works will be on display at venues throughout New Brunswick and Highland Park, NJ from January 21- February 28, 2019. I am paired with the Fair Housing Program within the NJ Citizen Action, a statewide grassroots organization fighting for social, racial and economic justice. The fair housing program educates people about their rights under the Fair Housing Act, and coordinates fair housing investigations in the areas of rentals, sales and accessibility for people with disabilities, performs data analysis and facilitates complaint resolution. Additionally they provide fair housing education and assistance to housing providers, nonprofit professionals and various organizations statewide. The installation resides within the window of Pura Vida boutique in Highland Park.
(Photo: Sculpture by Kevin Blythe Sampson)
Opening Saturday, Jan 12, 7 – 11PM. Index Art Center, 233 – 237 Washington St, Newark, New Jersey 07102
BETWEEN WISDOM AND MADNESS: Works in Sculpture
Curated by Agnes Deja and Sarah Walko.
Artists:
Peter Allen, Gianluca Bianchino, Jerome China, Donna Conklin-King, Lisa Conrad, Patricia Dahlman, Asha Ganpat, Sunil Garg, Adebunmi Gdadebo, Katherine Jackson, Joshua Knoblick, Julie Ann Angle, Daniela Puliti, Kevin Blythe Sampson, Lisa Sanders, Hila Sela, Charlee Swanson, Amanda Thackray, Adrienne Wheeler
The title of this show refers to the context of our times and the many levels of disparity we are trying to reconcile. As a renowned sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz wrote “Art will remain the most astonishing activity of mankind born out of struggle between wisdom and madness, between dream and reality”. Despite our current political, environmental and economic climate which affects the morale of all of us, artists continue to create.
“No-man kneads us again out of Earth and Loam, no-man spirits our Dust. No-man.”
Psalm by Paul Celan
No man spirits our dust
Featuring works by Roxanne Jackson, Shanti Grumbine, Radka Salcmannova, Christine Laquet, Marcus Kenney, Malado Baldwin
Curated by Sarah Walko
Myths are a human necessity, a deep need of our individual and cultural psyches to digest what we see, hear and experience in the world around us. Fantasy narratives and legendary tales reach extreme popularity, demonstrating how much we not only need but love our mythologies and our magic imaginations. They are not just entertainment but guidance and a way to frame language around the complexity of living. The artists in this exhibition are working within a visual mythology that blurs categorical definition, weaving between species, states of consciousness, blending into otherness in a story that roves between a monstrous and a sacred narrative. The opening is January 11th, 2019 6-9pm @5-50 Gallery located at 5-50 51st Ave., Long Island City, NY.
