This exhibit considers the relationship
between the human and the natural worlds. It explores the many ways artists are thinking about, and responding to, nature, from close observation to narrative and metaphor, from work that looks at the threats of climate change and mass extinction to art that is personal and intimate. Our goal is to showcase a wide range of ideas, media, and emotions, serving to evoke the complex and layered connections between us and our world.
Sachiko Akiyama
Jan Martijn Burger
Sarah Myers Brendt
Stacy Cushner
Melissa Dold
Rick Fox
Michelle Lougee
Patte Loper
Kayla Mohammadi
Naoe Suziki
Sophy Tuttle
Loretta Park
IG: @bertypark
Statement
I sew, braid, paint, cut, and crush objects to create works that are impractical and function-less. In doing so, I build abstract shapes that are non-representational but reference the real world. Although the forms in my work do not depict any specific ideas or items, my work is embedded with a sense of figure, especially the hand of a maker. As the shiny and slippery plastic lacing is woven through soft, tightly braided cotton fabrics, these contrasting textures repeatedly come into contact with each other. This intimate gesture of touching suggests the materials were held and altered by my hands. As I manipulate my chosen materials, the small tactile and visual elements accumulate and turn into larger structures. These densely detailed structures are combined with simple passage of lines, becoming at once two and three dimensional, and durational.
Bio
b. 1988, Goshen, NY
Loretta Park is a visual artist and holds an MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and a BA from Bowdoin College. Her work has been exhibited at Shelter In Place Gallery, Boston, MA (2020); New System Exhibitions, Portland, ME (2019); Ray Gallery, Brooklyn (2018), Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA (2017); and Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockland, ME (2017). She currently lives and works in the Boston area.
