Make Make Make: Repetition and Accumulation
Amy Genser, Meg Hitchcock, Allison Paschke, Jenn Shifflet, Anna Lisa Sorensen, Wendy Wahl, and Lari Washburn
Curated by A.I.R. National Member Allison Paschke
GALLERY III
Amy Genser
Agate Cobalt, 2013
Paper and acrylic on wood panel
18 x 18 x 1.5 inches
August 1 - September 1, 2019
Opening Reception: Thursday, August 1, 6-8pm
A.I.R. Gallery is pleased to announce Make Make Make: Repetition and Accumulation, a group exhibition investigating modes of making brought about by the repetition of physical touch to generate an explosion of tiny, almost identical and richly material elements. The works in this exhibition evidence an accumulation of repeated gestures, whether it be a plethora of ink marks, slices of paper, meticulously wrapped stones, or tiny porcelain vessels. This method is primarily a form of non-verbal compulsion and instinctive action, where each artist deliberately chooses to prioritize intuitive and emotive experiences over reasoned interpretation.
Through gestures of repetition, the artists reach what they consider a freeing of the mind; open to spontaneous sensitivity. In doing so, the artists find a centering and calming state of consciousness necessary for coping with daily life, resulting in works that are not overly didactic: the haptic supplants verbal criticism. The exhibition demands a slowing of time, mirroring the artists’ own actions.
Accumulation of many nearly identical elements can imply the infinite or cosmological. In some of these works, the hand mimics nature: identical gestures are varied by the hand’s action and by qualities inherent in materials, so that, like seashells or snowflakes, no two resulting marks or objects are alike. A field of tiny details brings into focus an intimate space, like looking into a microscope or a miniature world.
How does materiality shift one’s perception in relation to increasing digitalization? How can work that is not overtly socio-political be timely and relevant? Does the slowing of time induced by such work fill a need in the context of an accelerated and anxious culture?
