By Marcus Campbell
On Friday, April 10, Young Space held a reception to celebrate the opening of its new pop-up art gallery, re:generation, which features work from young artists throughout the state of Wisconsin. The gallery is housed in a vacant storefront on College Avenue that was formerly the location of Tastee Bakery. It is a small gallery housed in one room with wooden flooring and little furniture.
Young Space started out in 2014 as a blog run by Kate Mothes, then a graduate student in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was designed to showcase works by young and emerging artists in Edinburgh, as well as the greater U.K. When Mothes returned to her native Wisconsin, she had a desire to expand Young Space beyond its online presence. She planned to do this by organizing a series of pop-up galleries around the state, one being re:generation. Today, Young Space is both a virtual gallery and resource for emerging artists, as well as a real world experience recognizing emerging local artists.
A couple of the budding artists featured in the exhibit are current students at Lawrence University. Ridley Tankersley is a sophomore studio art major. Tankersley’s works are all designed on a computer, giving them a distinctive digitized look. He is a part of an art movement called the digitalists, who use digital mediums to make their works. They make a point to not use mediums that resemble analog ones. In other words, digitalists do not simply use Microsoft Paint; they go to great lengths to use other computer programs creatively to put together an image.
Audrey Cuthbert is also a sophomore at Lawrence. Cuthbert’s artistic inspiration came from her father. Initially, she used art as a form of journaling. Her father, himself an artist, encouraged her to use her artistic ability in a more creative manner, and she began to see art as an alternate form of communication and expression next to spoken and written word. Cuthbert intends her art to be symbolic. She wants viewers to look at her work and see something else in it unique to each person. Cuthbert is involved in both Greenfire and Amnesty International, and occasionally draws inspiration for works from the causes she supports.
re:generation appeared to be an amazing success, with the opening reception packed for nearly the entirety of the evening. When I asked Mothes what she thought of the turnout, she was legitimately surprised by the support from the community and the experience and exposure gained by the young artists involved.