The exhibition “into the current: eroding and evolving” by brooke cassady will be on display from August 19 through October 21 in the Glassblock Gallery in the Fred J. Taylor Library and Technology Center at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. There will be a closing reception and activation of the gallery space on Wednesday, October 21, from 6 to 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
“Working across ceramics, fibers and metals, I build objects and installations holding the tension between lack and excess, between the solitary self and the collective unconscious, weaving through all living matter,” said cassady. “I engage the alchemy of air, fire and water, transmuting raw material into form to give shape to what has no shape.”
The exhibition, which spans both floors of the Glassblock Gallery, is based on the concept that “everything alive is in the process of becoming and dissolving,” explained cassady. “What do we keep and what do we release? Shells and nests outlive the creatures that built it. Seed hold plants that have yet to emerge. This altar begins with what can still be touched: clay, sand, bone, the record of a hand’s touch pressed into earth. Small pinches of clay dissolve slowly in a jar of water over the course of the show, an invitation to let go of something. Upstairs, the waters of the unconscious unravel. Between the two floors, suspended in the open air, eight porous vessels escape from their nets, dredging what is buried into the light.”
A native of Athens, Georgia, cassady holds a Bachelor of Arts in art history degree from Boston University and a Master of Fine Arts in ceramics degree from Louisiana State University. Her practice has been furthered through scholarships at craft schools like Penland, Shakerag, Haystack and Anderson Ranch. She has completed residencies across the U.S. and in México and is an assistant professor in the Clarece Harp Lyles Endowed Professorship of Studio Art in Ceramic Arts and 3D Design and the director of the School of Design Gallery at Louisiana Tech University. She exhibits nationally and has been featured by the Surface Design Association.
The Glassblock Gallery’s hours are Mondays from 1 to 4 p.m.; Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesdays from 1 to 4 p.m.; and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Academics,College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences,Campus Events
Article courtesy of the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
