Friday night was the opening reception for MIGRATION at the Imago Gallery in Warren RI. The curated exhibit includes a wide array of art on the subject of migration, refugees and displaced peoples. The amazing sculptor, Harriet Diamond and I are the featured artists in the show. I really enjoyed meeting her and look forward to our gallery talk on Sunday, March 24 at 1:00 PM. Harriet and I will begin with short visual presentations about our art and then we’ll have a conversation with each other and the audience. The show will be up until April 20th, so I hope that those of you from Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts can get over there to see it. IMAGO Gallery hours: Thursday 4-8 | Friday and Saturday 12-8 | Sunday 11-3

Harriet and I chatted about the many facets of our art that we share – we both make sculpture, use small doll-like figures, present narratives that tell the human story and portray a range of social scenarios from the everyday to topical subjects. Please scroll down to see photos of her powerful and ambitious project. Four of my bas-relief embroidered pieces are on display: Face Time, Cover Up, Whiskers and Displaced.

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Artist Harriet Diamond’s work “Driven From Their Homes,” is a hybrid installation sculpture and illusionistic scene that chronicles the horrors of the Syrian War and diaspora. As Diamond notes, the work “depicts an episodic journey of refugee people fleeing from the terrible destruction of their home city” to an unknown future.  Each figure struggles to cope, to grieve, to endure.  “It is a dark scene, but it’s also roiling with life.”  Because of the size and scope of this piece, viewers will be surrounded by the scenes as they unfold.  All human emotions, from fear to desolation, from courage to heroism, are etched in the faces of these victims of war.  It is the artist’s fervent hope that by telling this story the “terrible truth of war” will become “more present and real to us.”

I am blown away by the power of “Driven From Their Home”. There is so much to take in. The figures are constructed of clay and the building structures are styrofoam slabs painted to look like concrete. She has set up this installation in several locations, piecing together the many parts like a puzzle.

If you make the trip to see the show, please know that there’s a great little eatery next door – Eli’s Kitchen. Here are the dates of the show and talk:

MIGRATION
Imago Foundation for the Arts, Warren, Rhode Island
March 14 – April 20, 2019 – Show Dates
Sunday, March 24 @ 1:00 PM – Artist Talk with featured artists Harriet Diamond and Salley Mavor.
IMAGO Gallery is located at 36 Market Street, Warren, RI 02885 – 401 245 3348 – Open Thurs 4 – 8; Fri and Sat 12 – 8; Sun 11 – 3 and by appointment.

To see my current schedule of exhibits and talks, click here.

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