Upcoming Exhibitions

Forever Transient

Andrew Leventis, Kenny Nguyen, Colby Caldwell, Brent Dedas, James Henkel, Susan Jedrzejewski, Deb Koo, Jennifer Minnis and Desiree Thomas

Exhibition Dates: May 20 – August 9

‘Forever Transient’ visually investigates the meaning behind transience, impermanence, continuous change and the desire to preserve and prolong the temporary moment. Inspired by Dutch still life paintings and vanitas, each artist exemplifies a different creative approach and skill set to artistically render the fragility of time. Time does not sand still. It marches forward and looks back retrospectively at the past. Therefore, the experience of time is never linear, but cyclical.

‘Forever Transient’ exhibits 8 nationally and internationally acclaimed artists. Through varying processes, each artist composes their work to include vibrant references, and in some cases direct interactions, with nature and humanity. Andrew Leventis’ hyper realistic refrigerator still life paintings, echo the elements of Dutch still life techniques, but with a contemporary and refreshing update of a classic art form. Brent Dedas’ “honeybee drawings” incorporate the assistance of live honeybees landing and crawling on his drawings, which Dedas then turns into cyanotype prints. Colby Caldwell, brings his flatbed scanner along on his nature walks, instead of a camera, and scans natural flora found on the forest floor. James Henkel arranges fragments of glass from destroyed vessels to create organic shapes, therefore showing transience through destruction, change and reformation. Susan Jedrzejewski also explores the imperfect and unpredictable patterns of the natural world through the process of photo transfer on canvas and panel. Debra Koo’s paintings preserve moments in time such as social celebrations, family, friends and gatherings around the abundance of food and frivolity. Desiree Thomas turns ordinary into extraoridnary, featuring common food items such as spam and packaged chips, often set against the background of a blue sky. Vietnamese artist Kenny Nguyen’s work honors his Vietnamese and American cultural heritage in organic and abstract forms using paint and Vietnamese silk in creative, unconventional ways. Jennifer Minnis’ work focuses on a threefold view of humanity in spirit, mind and body, capturing moments of time in paint that cause the viewer to question the thoughtful intentions of the portrayed subject.

“Whether skillfully rendering mundane routines, reimagining a personal archive, or concentrating on the minute details of a moment already gone, these artists bring to life something as connected to the temporary as it is to the everlasting. The small becomes the meaningful, the part becomes a whole. It is not the need for retrospection, but the will to render the complicated nuances of time, memory and fragility that give this collection of works its power. It is within these elapsed moments that the painting lives and continues to evolve, forever.” ~ Group Quote

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An Exhibition Featuring Artists from the Catawba Cultural Center