FORM & EMPTINESS: Focus on Paper, Prints, and Photography

December 1, 2022 – January 15, 2023

Shown here (from left to right): 

(1st row) Vanessa R. Thompson’s Secured, Vicki McKenna’s Sunset Splash, Rebecca Skinner’s To Dust; (2nd row) Monica DeSalvo’s Preserving Loss diptych (detail), Georgina Lewis’ pink mold black pearl, Marie Craig’s Roiling; (3rd row) Lior Neiger’s Water Licks Like Fire 1, Sarah Alexander’s Stay Awhile, Patty deGrandpre’s EFFLORESCE (The Green & Blue).

The FS core artists with works on paper, in print, and through photography conceptually react to the meaning of “form” and “emptiness” in a multitude of ways. For some, the idea of ‘emptiness’ is taken at a formal level, such as Lior Neiger’s “Water Licks Fire” series; for others it is translated thematically, such as Sarah Alexander’s “Stay Awhile” which tracks the passage of time. The subtle changes that occur as one shifts from layer to layer to create multi-dimensional experiences can be seen in the detailed prints of Patty DeGrandpre and Monica DeSalvo. 

In the photographic realm, Rebecca Skinner takes us into spaces that are full of ‘emptiness’ but still retain form, albeit abandoned, and through this decay create a new sense of belonging. Vicki McKenna plays with light and shadow in her photographs to capture the movements and sensations around us. Georgina Lewis asks us as viewers to re-examine preconceived notions of what we see as material forms in her micro-focused imagery. And finally, the cyanotype artists Marie Craig and Vanessa R. Thompson, are able to harness natural light as an exposing power to create forms out of nature. 

As we peer into these works above, the foregrounds and backgrounds work together and/or oppositionally to shift our visual perspective – and by doing so allow us to see each one anew. 

~ Nilou Moochhala, co-curator