I am very pleased to have my work on view in The Lorraine B Good Room which is on the 2 floor of BCA - on Church street. It will be on view through May! Thanks to the hard work of the BCA staff - in particular Kate Ashman. The work on view is current work dealing with the theme of family dynamics.
My work is inspired by family dynamics, and my collection of 'artifacts', and old artworks. I transform old books, family letters, surgical masks, used clothing, and photographs, rather than preserving them. I see these objects as memories and in some cases, like letters and photographs, they actually are. But, memories do change over time. In light of current scientific findings that show memories are not stored in our brains; each time you 'recall' a past event you reconstruct or recreate it. I see what I do at the sewing machine and the etching press as recreating, redefining, and transforming stories. Two shapes that feature in my work: a ‘loop’ and a quarter of an almond shape are used to represent humans. A loop also refers to sewing, which is how I compile my collages, and as a line, that has an inside and an outside. The quarter almond shape I see as a part of something and that intrinsically makes connections. My interest in family dynamics loops back on itself when I use my family's ephemera. Part of a family's structure is made from memories and stories (told or untold) that have formed each individual. Family relationships are altered and challenged by the introduction of new people through various relationships that include marriage, adoption, divorce, and birth. In my work, as I build 'families', I connect forms (or don’t), and the layers of shapes that ensue speak to the complexity of families and their unique beauty. A family is a constantly evolving form.
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Where's My Hat?
January 22 - March 1, 2025 Artists reflect on clothing or lack thereof in a variety of media. These two works were selected for the exhibition. They were part of "State of Vermont", a body of work that began with machine sewing scraps of old shirts onto topographical maps of Vermont. I then put them through the monotype press. For each piece, the steps were repeated various times. In the process, I looked closely at the maps and noticed the playful, intimate nature of the names of places and geographical features. We long for familiarity with the land adorning it with descriptions of a colloquial nature: "Grandpa Knob", and "Cozy Corner." It seems fitting to adorn maps with clothing - an apt metaphor for the intimacy with 'place' we continually seek Exhibiting Artists - Where’s My Hat? Pete Aldrich; Larry Bowling; Linsey Brunner; Teresa Celemin; Cari Clement; Mark Dixon; Elizabeth Fram; Bruce Hasse; Stephany Komen Hasse; Christine Henninger; Dorsey Hogg; Eve Jacobs-Carnahan; Joe John; Rob Millard-Mendez; Orah Moore; Maggie Neale; Julia Pavone; Heather Milne Ritchie; Lara Ronan; Frederick Rudi; Susi Ryan; Marcie Scudder; Susan Smereka; Savannah Spannaus; Marcia Vogler; Roger Weingarten For images of the show. |
Susan SmerekaArchives
April 2025
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