Min(e)d Structures: a Solo Exhibition by Jeffrey Nowlin—Oct 2-Oct 25, 2020
The Piano Craft Gallery presents Min(e)d Structures, a solo exhibition of works by Jeffrey Nowlin
Show Dates: October 3rd 2020 - October 25th 2020
Opening Reception: October 3rd 2020, 6-8PM(social distancing and masks required)Gallery Hours: Fridays 6-8PM, Saturdays 12-5PM, Sundays 12-5PM
Join us!
Curated by: Kamal Ahmad
Min(e)d Structures
Picked over, carved into, torn, and treated by hand, Min(e)d Structures are a culmination of research and exploration of what phenomenology of trauma and illness look like in three dimensional form.
I am addressing a collected narrative that stems from my own events and experiences. However, our lives are not discreet, never fully disconnected from the larger societal body. I am suggesting with the woven elements and flexible structures how these experiences are part of a matrix of larger social structures which govern how we collectively function and survive in the world. I am here to indict those systems which repress, exploit, and trivialize those in marginalized positions
The materials I employ imply both private and public spaces. They are a rebellion of reclaimed time, effort, and manual obsession. They express, in no uncertain terms, a configuration of memory stored in the body and mind. Those moments which are most traumatic or simply the most quotidian tend to summon and trick us into a connection with sensory, visceral elements. We cling to the most basic aspects of recognizing our physical world. Are you entranced by the rich color? Enticed to touch these soft forms? Do you smell the odor of musk in all these thrift shop fibers?
These pieces exist straddled between deconstruction and mending. As I dig into the foundations of social systems and how they construct and inflect race, gender, sexuality, violence, addiction, mental and physical health, I configure my own conception of phenomenon through the ways of seam, stitch, and structure. I organize events and memories, body sensations and communications with woven works and assemblage sculpture. Min(e)d Structures implicates a dialectical paradigm meant to integrate these conceptions and these systems.
The Piano Craft Gallery advances the understanding of contemporary visual and performing arts in the community and promotes artistic purposes through exhibits, performances, lectures, meetings, and seminars in connection with matters of artistic concern. The Piano Craft Gallery is an all volunteer-run non-profit community gallery space devoted to sharing artists’ work with the public.
The Piano Craft Gallery, dedicated to offering thought-provoking and engaging exhibitions, is a historic Boston landmark located at 793 Tremont Street, Boston, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.pianocraftgallery.com, www.facebook.com/artpcgboston, or https://www.instagram.com/artpcgboston.