Viewing entries in
2015-2017

Rob Hackett

Rob Hackett

quarreling with the balance and flow 

Upon entering any space we search for visual markers. We look first for the windows, doorways, and light switches, then our gaze moves on to the oor, ceiling, vents, embellishments, and aws. It doesn’t take long to nd our bearings in a new space, but the subtle nuances can be examined for hours. Some of these elements work harmoniously together while others strike discord. My recent work plays off of this balance in a space between the comfortable and the distressing; creating sculptures that share a like-minded aesthetic to the space in which they exist while still quarreling with the balance and flow of a room. 

Rob Hackett is a visual artist and MFA candidate at the University of Maryland by way of Pittsburgh, PA. His work focuses primarily on geometric and architecturally inspired imagery in the form of sculpture and various print media.

Rob’s work was recently on display at the Andy Warhol Museum in a national exhibition highlighting emerging artists in printmaking.

 

Jim Leach

Jim Leach

bundle them, obscure them, put them in relation to one another

I’ll start with a consideration of my mind as a dumping ground for information from so many sources constantly. They pile it on, and I’m left to sift it, sort it, push it into corners, ignore it or squeeze it into one cohesive form. I’ll draw ideas, objects and forms from seemingly unrelated places, bundle them, obscure them, put them into relation of one- another and compare them to a clean, endless and empty black.

I’ll nd pallets and PVC, umbrellas, black panels, poetry, probiotics, horse heads, cornices, absences, guard rails, synesthesia, newscasters, satellites, ceramic cats, 50-gallon drums, bannisters, glossy bundles of garbage, fresh sneaks, sump pumps and lamps and pans and plastics and fuckin’ smart bombs and radio shows, vapors, owers, books, thugs, mugs, better apartments than mine, long walks, an app that will make sausages appear from thin air, Kierkegaard, disposals, things that have never been seen before, things that have been seen before, coats from dead guys, other people’s art, drywall and couches, ink spilled on expensive desks and bumper cars and paper masks and dada, sulfur, nihilism, salads and sponges and saucers, dust, stuffed bears and beer and physics, hair gel, swan dives, dry heat and canned meat, and I’m going to force them together in the most appropriate of ways. 

Jim Leach was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He received a BFA from Kent State University in 2011, and an MFA from the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute College of Art where he was the recipient of the 2012-14 Rinehart Fellowship. His work has been in various solo and group exhibitions, including shows at The Gowanus Loft in Brooklyn, New York; Vox Populi in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Legation, A Gallery and The Galleries at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio; and Maryland Art Place and Creative Alliance in Baltimore, Maryland.

Leach has been reviewed in Cleveland’s Scene Magazine and Baltimore’s BmoreArt, included in exhibition catalogs published by Cleveland State University and the Maryland Institute College of Art, and was selected by Maryland Art Place for 30: Thirty Creative Minds Under 30. Jim Leach lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland.

 

 

Christie Neptune

Christie Neptune

social constructs of identity

In my works, I explore themes around the social constructs of identity and trace how race, class and gender factors into one’s perception of the “self”. “To be seen through my own eyes,” is an idea that I regularly explore as an African American Female Artist. Working across photography, film, mixed media and performance arts, I wrestle with internalized life experiences to challenge the socio-political systems that shape our psychological self and perceptive modes. It is especially important for me to create counter narratives which examines the pedagogy of resistance, subjectivity and identity amongst historically marginalized female bodies of color.  In these narratives, I am able to forgo the lens of the “other” and do away with cultural biases that limit and define my blackness.

Christie Neptune received her B.A. in Visual Arts from Fordham University and has been featured in publications including Les Femmes Folles, HYSTERIA: What Was Taken, Psychology Today, JUXTAPOZ, AFROPUNK, The Washington Post and VICE. Recent shows include a solo exhibition at the Hamiltonian Gallery, Washington, DC (2016); and Five Myles Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (2015). She has been included in group exhibitions at the Queens Museum of Art, Queens NY (2016); A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (2016); Yeelen Gallery, Miami Fl (2015); The Hamiltonian Gallery, Washington, DC (2015); UnionDocs, Brooklyn, NY (2015); the Momentum Technology Film Fest at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ (2014); and 440 Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (2011).

Nara Park

Nara Park

human
desire for immortality

My work investigates simulations of nature as expressions of the human desire for immortality.

Stone is often used to commemorate the dead: it is a symbol of strength, stability and permanence. After witnessing the death of a loved one and experiencing grief, I began to ponder mortality and the desire for permanence. What I realized was nothing is permanent. Even rocks get worn away by wind and water, and eventually disappear. My use of materials re ects the fact that what we perceive to be permanent is actually ephemeral.

In my work, I explore how far I can push the boundaries of imitations in order to inspire reverence and respect for its visual effect. I do not aim to trick the viewer with the faux, but rather generate life from it.

Most of my sculptures are hollow inside in order to emphasize that there is a void under the surface of a monumental structure. Opposing states coexist: hollowness inside bulkiness, physical lightness inside visual heaviness, and immanence within emptiness. They are only surfaces, yet they may be more than that. 

Nara Park is a DC based artist who makes packaging boxes with faux pattern to create sculptures and installations that imitate the natural environment and reflect on our human mortality. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she received the Henry Walters Traveling Fellowship and the Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award by the International Sculpture Center.

Her work has been on exhibit at Grounds for Sculpture, Baltimore/Washington International Airport, (e)merge Art Fair, CONNERSMITH., and Rush Arts Gallery. Her work has been featured in the Sculpture magazine, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Art Fag City, and NY Arts Magazine.

Kyle Tata

Kyle Tata

appropriated historical images

Through photography, artist books, and other printed matter my work addresses the history of 20th century Modernism and it’s relation to contemporary domestic life. I often attempt to approach my subject in the manner that one would study a body of text. In my work there are visual examples of primary sources, annotated references to works by others, and footnotes that bring the reader/viewer to consider a subordinate topic.

I often combine a variety of appropriated historical images from textbooks with those from my own personal archive. In addition, I integrate a variety of contemporary and antiquated photographic printing processes to abstract the origin of my work and create a unique visual language. 

Kyle Tata is a Los Angeles based artist with a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. His work addresses history, urbanism, and architecture through photography, artist books, and other printed matter. Tata also written for numerous art blogs including Humble Arts Foundation in New York.

His work has been featured at galleries and institutions such as the Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland Art Place, The Light Gallery (MD), the George Segal Gallery at Mont Clair University, The D-Center (MD), Petrella’s Imports (NYC) and the International Print Center of New York.