EXHIBITION: Off the Wall

Opening Night Reception: May 4, 2023 at 6:00pm. 

The Reeves House Visual Arts Center is proud to present “Off the Wall,” a captivating art exhibition featuring the works of ten talented artists from across the country. The exhibition, which runs from May 4 to June 25, displays artwork that transcends the boundaries of the wall and escapes the confines of the frame, inviting viewers into a liminal space where two-dimensional and three-dimensional art converge. This groundbreaking show challenges conventional notions of art display, showcasing pieces that break free from the picture frame and invade the viewer’s space. 

Ranging from minimalist to maximalist in style, these artworks incorporate unconventional materials such as styrofoam, puzzle pieces, repurposed furniture, painted screens, piano wire, plastic fruit, and hair. adding a unique touch to their intricate and large-scale creations.

Casey McGuire‘s “Teetering Scaffolds” installation may at first appear more like a construction site than a sculpture. Rock forms carved out of recycled industrial foam scale the wall and tentatively teeter on plinths of wood with cartographically cut edges. The harsh neon orange and pink construction tape visually connects the individual elements to draw our attention to the fragile interconnectivity of ecosystems, while also raising questions about land ownership, and industrial waste. The intricate porcelain installations of Du Chau, ranging from nestled doves arranged in the shape of a spine to piano wires  that appear to grow out of the wall, evoke the simultaneous fragility and strength of peace while reflecting on his personal experiences growing up in Vietnam during the war. Mitchell Biggio’s monochromatic wall sculptures explore the impact of absence through the removal of material from solid forms to create imagined topographies, while David Carlton assembles decorative Victorian era furniture into contemporary compositions defined by a minimalist aesthetic. Sandra Szkolnik also explores form monochromatically in her volumetric structures that utilize flexible geometric folds to create tessellated sheets that can be physically manipulated and transformed.

While Kenn Kotara’s screen structures, inspired by Josef Albers’ series, “Homage to the Square,” are decidedly minimal in their approach to color theory and form, his multi-layered canvas pieces are more maximalist in their explosion of patterns and rich symbolic language. Similarly exploding with color, Jeffrey Wilcox Paclipan’s artworks composed of puzzle pieces explore the fine line between kitsch and sophistication. Sara Schindel also plays on this dichotomy in her pieces that literally transform Dutch still life paintings into three dimensional sculptures that burst from the picture frame. Drawing from her Caribbean heritage, April D. Felipe layers patterns and textures that carry hidden African histories and challenge viewers to reflect on how identity and belonging can be constructed, meanwhile Debbie Veith‘s assemblage, Fallopians 6:24:22, offers a poignant commentary on women’s reproductive rights using found materials and clever wordplay.

Off the Wall is an exhibition that explores visual and metaphorical dichotomies that challenge viewers to reconsider the boundaries of art and the ways in which art transgresses those confines. From minimalist to maximalist, these artworks embrace the liminal space between two- and three-dimensions, enveloping viewers in the world of each artist.

The exhibition will be on display at the Reeves House Visual Arts Center from May 4th to June 25th, 2023. The gallery is open Sun – Weds: 8am-7pm and Thurs-Sat: 8am-9pm. Admission is free, and all are welcome to experience this exceptional showcase of contemporary art.