Vanishing Borders Exhibit Opens at Antioch College’s Herndon Gallery

The Herndon Gallery’s upcoming exhibit, titled Vanishing Borders: Contemporary Environmental Art features works by five women, Judy Rush, Donna Coleman, Michelle Waters, Patty Hawkins, and Linda Gass. Coleman and Waters are painters, while Hawkins, Gass, and Rush are quilt makers. Individually, their works are strong, visceral, and beautiful.  Together, they create an absolutely stunning show.  Seeing the works of these artists in such close proximity is a singularly powerful experience; Vanishing Borders is surely one of the finest exhibits on display in our region—a rare treat not to be missed!  The exhibit opens with an evening wine reception on Friday, December 8 at 7pm and will be exhibited until February 2, 2007.  We do hope you’ll join us for this amazing exhibit.

Each of the five women in Vanishing Borders uses highly stylized form and vibrant colors to reflect on relationships between humans and the natural world.  Their works demand the viewer pause and further contemplate the place of humans in our contemporary world.

For example, Waters’ paintings are satirical and humorous, engaging us imaginatively in the political activism of environmental issues.  One of her paintings, Luddites, depicts a group of wild animals dismantling a bulldozer that invaded their territory. Reminiscent of environmental activist and nature writer Edward Abbey’s Monkeywrench Gang, this painting (and her other paintings) challenges us to take up the perspective of the species harmed by our need to “develop” the natural world. 

Fine art quilt maker and Columbus, Ohio native Judy Rush uses repetitive (but never boring) grid patterns, and vibrant, saturated color to comment on the tension within urban environmentalism.  While we normally think of environmental issues as ones that deal with species protection and wilderness preservation, Rush calls attention to the urban environment as one that is worthy of—and demands—our critical attention. 

Oberlin, Ohio artist Donna Coleman also uses deeply saturated color, often in atypical places, such as the purple trees in her Untitled piece.  Coleman’s work also asks us to think outside the traditionally constructed borders of environmental problems. Her paintings, most of which are rather large in scale, ask us to consider the social causes and effects of environmental contamination and destruction. 

Patty Hawkin's use of color is organic and exciting. She dies her own fabric and uses a fuse-construction technique to create her quilts. Many of her works are substantially larger than those of Rush and Gass, sometimes reaching 90+ inches. Her works reflect her love for and immersion in the natural world. A resident of Colorado, many of her quilts, including the ones in this exhibit, depict aspen trees and mountain streams. She has exhibited her quilts all over the country, and maintains contact with several long-time quilters in the Yellow Springs area. 

Finally, Linda Gass, a fine art quilt maker who hand dyes her own silk fabrics, uses beautiful sinuous lines and sensual, opulent colors to represent the landscapes in which we find ourselves.  Her pieces ask us to think about environmental restoration, about our continued plunder of the landscape, as well as the way our political decisions effect social and natural environments. 

Each artist brings her own perspective to the human-nature relationship, blurring the borders of the dualism that stands behind the conceptual justifications of our environmental destruction.

All too often, the depressing reality of environmental issues can be immobilizing.  Yet, poised as we are on the brink of so many growing environmental issues, feeling ready to act, ready to make a difference, and ready to win a victory for humanity is more important than ever.  Art can offer us a way into environmental problems that is both less confrontational and more hopeful; indeed, the artists in the Vanishing Borders exhibit open space for us to contemplate environmental issues—and to envision solutions. 

Thus, this exhibit also blurs the boundaries between information and action, between art and education, and between knowledge and hope.  Toward this end, Antioch College students in the First Year class Sense of Place have written short research narratives commenting intellectually on the environmental problems depicted in each piece.  Thus, the exhibit is visually tantalizing and intellectually stimulating all at the same time.  The saturated, stylistic imagery of the artists’ works is intoxicating and impassioned, while the textual aspect of the exhibit is lively and educational—a truly rare combination in the world of environmental art!

Uniquely, this exhibit shows fine art quilts alongside paintings-- a radical shift from quilt making’s usual place in shows limited to "craft" rather than "fine art."  This is a rather groundbreaking move in the realm of fine arts—and represents yet another way in which this exhibit vanishes borders.  Here, there are no distinct separations between “craft” and “art;” instead, artists from varied disciplinary backgrounds have been knitted into an exhibit based on the similarity of their aesthetic, on the resonance of their messages, and on the way their works challenge the conceptual borders we too often take for granted in environmental discourse.

The exhibit opens on December 8, 2006 and runs through February 2, 2007.  The Herndon Gallery is sponsoring a catered opening reception on Friday, December 8th from 7 until 9 pm.  Artists Donna Coleman and Judy Rush will be present to engage in informal conversation about their works.  We sincerely hope that you will join us—and that you’ll spread the word about this exciting and groundbreaking exhibit.  The opening, and the exhibit are free and open to the public.

The Herndon Gallery is located on the first floor of South Hall, which is located “on the U” on Antioch College’s campus in Yellow Springs.  Public parking is available behind the library, and along Livermore Street.  The Gallery is about 10 minutes from Rt. 70, and about 25 minutes from Rt. 75.  The exhibit is open Tuesday through Friday from 3:30 until 8 pm, on Saturday and Sunday from 1 until 8pm, and by appointment when Antioch College classes are in session.  If you would like to make an appointment for a private showing, please contact the Gallery Director, Dr. Colette Palamar, at cpalamar@antioch-college.edu, or call the Herndon Gallery at 937.769.1149.

This exhibit was made possible by generous donations of work and time by the artists, curator, and gallery personnel involved, and by financial assistance from Antioch College and the Ohio Arts Council.