Our annual affordable art show is back - with a new name. Join us for 'Made by Hand'
a celebration of works by 48 local artists including: sculpture, ceramics, drawings,
paintings, book arts, fiber, and jewelry.
All priced at $100 or less and perfect for Holiday shopping.
Shop local and support local artists!
SEPTEMBER 27 - NOVEMBER 18
OPENING RECEPTION - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 5-8P
SPECTRUM brings to MCLA Gallery 51 a reflection and conversation on the gender continuum—exploring
cultural and social issues of gender roles, norms and identification. The work include
in SPECTRUM examines masculinity, femininity and gender identifications between and
outside of this binary.
The 29 national and international artists in the show have used their artistic voice
to examine, question, confront and critique the relationships between gender and society.
"This exhibition turns to the ability of artists to confront the status quo and challenge
cultural standards, providing a framework for discussion and change through visual
arts." - Arthur De Bow, MCLA Gallery 51 Curator
The exhibiting artist are: ADAM ATKINSON, KATINA BITSICAS, RORA BLUE, ANA CIGON, AARON
COBBETT, BUG DAVIDSON, ALEXANDRIA DETERS, LOU EBERHARD, ELISSA RAE ECKER, RAUL GONZALEZ, KENNETH
GUTHRIE, KEAVY HADLEY-BYRNE, MARGARET HART, EVERETT HOFFMAN, KIANA HONARMAND, KATIE
HOVENCAMP, VAUGHAN LARSEN, GEORGE LORIO, JOHN MANION, CHRISTOPHER MATTHEWS, FELICITA
MAYNARD, CAITLINN ROSE O’BRIEN, RACHEL O’DONNELL, KYLE QUINN, SHAWN ROWE, SAIRO, ABBY
TAYLOR, BREA WEINREB, MONICA VELEZ.
Read the press release
See additional images from the exhibition
October 16, 6-7p MCLA Design Lab
Expanding on ideas presented in her recently published book "Whitewalling: Art, Race
and Protest in 3 Acts," join Aruna D'Souza for a free, public lecture at MCLA Design
Lab (49 Main St.)
The talk will be followed by a Q+A session.
Aruna D'Souza writes about modern and contemporary art; intersectional feminisms and other forms of politics; and how museums shape our views of each other and the world. Her work appears regularly in 4Columns.org, where she is a member of the editorial advisory board, and has been published as well in The Wall Street Journal, CNN.com, Art News, Garage, Bookforum, Momus, Art in America, and Art Practical, among other places.
Her book, Whitewalling: Art, Race, and Protest in 3 Acts was published by Badlands
Unlimited in May 2018. She currently editing two forthcoming volumes, Making It Modern:
A Linda Nochlin Reader, which will be published by Thames & Hudson, and A Presence
Which Signals Absence: Lorraine O'Grady Collected Writings 1977-2018.
This talk is made possible through the generosity of the Hardman Family Endowment.
November 8, 2-4p MCLA Gallery 51
(part of MCLA's Day of Dialogue events)
BCRC director Michelle Daly will lead the group in a conversation that explores how artists and art institutions are responding to the colonial legacy of the museum. Using recent controversies at the Walker Museum (Sam Durant's Scaffold) and the Whitney Biennial (Dana Schutz’s Open Casket) as our jumping off point – we will discuss how contemporary art museums and arts institutions are grappling with these questions. While also considering how an expanded understanding of art, which considers the cultural position of the artist, moves us away from the traditional neocolonial structures of (western) art history.
Co-curated by Bryanna Bradley '17 and Michelle Daly.
with work by: Aye Eckersen, J. Bouey, Katy Pyle, Rina Espiritu, Malcolm Peacock, Amanda Romanelli, Don'Jea Smith, Heath Upton, Alyssa St. Franc, Billy Dean Thomas.
November 16-17 various locations
Collectively, the 19 regional and national artists of SHEL•TER present their work as a response to the multitude of conceptual, physical, emotional, political, and social interpretations of shelter.
image: A New Fall 17, Stephanie Serpick
Exhibiting Artists: William Archer, Deborah Bouchette, Doug Breault, Valerie Carrigan, Laura Christensen, Michelle Daly , Julia Dixon, Peter Dudek, Mar Goman, Heidi Kirkpatrick, Melanie Mowinski, Linda and Opie O'Brien, Sara Farrell Okamura, Thomas Orr, Stacey Piwinski, Jackie Sedlock Pottery, Stephanie Serpick, and Max Spitzer
“The work in SHEL•TER will ask the viewer to consider different connections and interpretations
to the meaning of shelter. My hope is that the work will promote intellectual and
emotional engagement between the viewer and the exhibition” - Arthur De Bow, MCLA
Gallery 51 curator.
July 26 – Aug. 25, 2018
Opening reception Thursday July 26, 5pm - 8pm
Artist talk Wednesday Aug. 8th 6pm – 7pm
Rolling Stones, Image courtesy of the artist
The exhibition Heads and Tales is a retrospective covering four decades of images. They were created to illustrate newspaper, magazine, and on line articles focused on all aspects of the arts from jazz, rock and the fine arts to theatre. Each photo will have accompanying text about it’s moment in time and Charles' relationship to the subject.
June 28 – July 21, 2018
Opening Reception Thursday June 28, 5pm – 8pm
Artist Talk Wednesday July 11, 6-7pm
DOWNSTREET ART THURSDAY JUNE 28, 5-8PM
read the press release
see additional images from this exhibition
"Urban environments are full of abstract designs created accidentally or intentionally by human activity. Scuffs and scrapes, stains, grid lines, surveyors’ markings, and graffiti fascinate me. There are surprising juxtapositions of materials and texture in the urban environment. I like to create artwork in direct response to what I see." - Betty Vera
image shown: Security, Jacquard tapestry Cotton
Photo: Carin Quirke de Jong
On View: May 24 – June 22, 2018
Opening reception: Thursday May 24, 5pm – 7pm
Artist Talk: Thursday May 24, 5pm - 6pm
pride, (Acrylic and Flashe on panel) 24x36 inches, image courtesy of the artist and Gallery 6/67
Sheffield draws propositional interventions between ancient and contemporary history as a tool to provoke skepticism of the hierarchal forms, shapes, and language embedded in western hegemony. Each mark made is preceded by a rhetorical gesture sourced from his personal experience serving in the US Army and being deployed to Baghdad, Iraq.
Artist Statement
The politics of recognition stands at the intersection of race and empire. It requires the subordinate to acknowledge, learn, and demonstrate their assimilation to the standards of the more powerful, in order to gain certain ‘privileges’ and ‘inalienable rights' granted to those in charge. I draw propositional interventions between ancient and contemporary history as a tool to provoke skepticism of the hierarchal forms, shapes, and language embedded in western hegemony. Each mark made is preceded by a rhetorical gesture sourced from my personal experience serving in the US Army and being deployed to Baghdad, Iraq. I collage text, drawing, print, and include official army documents to represent the institutional language used to move human bodies in support of military operations - the prologue to training for war. Other mediums of language take the form of drawing and construction sourced from used and discarded materials in order to occupy visual and physical space to represent tensions between empirical influence and interpretation.
I am interested in standards of rhetoric disguised as rational and objective. I reserve skepticism toward the inherited assumptions of the terms ethical and neutral. From my experience within the military - both globally and within the United States - these terms inherit a history in violence of erasure, exclusion, and invisibility through dehumanization. Through the process of constructing paintings and installations, I am trying to engage with the audience a mechanism for identifying a specific residue of western hegemony - language and perception. Skepticism plays an important role in the work through the use of obfuscation of text, figurative representation, and the structural integrity of form. It provides the viewer the opportunity to determine blind spots - to resist or refuse the urge to validate forms of perceptions through naming. Ultimately, I am interested in the potential collapse of ‘standard’ interpretations of representational forms, as well as the geopolitical consequences of America's military interventions and occupations abroad.
April 26 – May 19, 2018
Opening reception Thursday April 26, 5pm – 7pm
A collaborative exhibit created, curated and advertised by seniors at MCLA,THE HUMAN CONDITION showcases the work of art students finalizing their undergraduate creative careers. Led by Melanie Mowinski, seniors Molly Gurner, Jackie Smith, Halie Smith, Nicole Stearns and Samantha White each explore current states of condition through analyzing affecting factors. The exhibit brings together sculptural pieces, paintings, drawings, digital media and poetry.
Honoring Communication Through Advocation
Molly Gurner honors the speechlessness experienced by ALS sufferers, while creating a platform to further inform and educate on the disease.
Rooted
Jackie Smith develops a collective self-portrait through exploring intimate relationships that have impacted her. Through these paintings, she outlines her personal perspective for viewers.
Who I see, who they know
Hallie Smith counteracts the societal attitudes towards women by creating an encouraging light in which she portrays the inspiring women around her.
Off-White
Nicole Stearns shares her narrative of what it means to be an American that is both a woman and biracial. Her self-portraits and collages create a layered identity for viewers to experience.
Antithesis
Samantha White displays the mathematical phenomena that occurs in nature and the human figure . Tapping into roots of words and culture, she creates bridges between common gaps of separation.
