On Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 4:30 p.m., Lawrence University hosted an artist talk by three of the four artists whose works are currently displayed in the Kohler Gallery in the Wriston Art Galleries. Each artist served as a Uihlein Fellow in Studio Art at Lawrence University, making this gallery show a reunion of sorts. The event was about 45 minutes long in total: the artist talk was followed by a short Q&A with the artists and ended with a reception in the Wriston lobby. Many professors and students were there, as were other members of the Lawrence community and beyond.
While the show featured work from Valerie Zimany, Debbie Kupinsky, Sarah Gross and Meghan Sullivan, only the latter three were present for the talk. Each artist provided a brief background on themselves and their art, including references to their time as Uihlein Fellows as well as to shared experiences exploring art in Italy. In their talk, each mentioned the pandemic and how it affected their creative work.
The combination of their art in the gallery was a feast for the eyes and mind. Each artist has a distinct style that merges well with the other three. I was particularly drawn to the intricate glazed porcelain sculptures created by Kupinsky. There were multiple scupltures on display, each one slightly different and yet clearly connected. The light-colored vines, along with flowers and little tiny birds, made me feel like I was spying on a secret garden. The overall effect was that of a fantastical world amid the “normalcy” of nature.
I was also intrigued by Gross’ story; she talked about how she grew up in New York and wasn’t able to have a garden until she moved to Kansas and the lockdown started. She continued to share how gardening and watching things grow during that time gave her a sense of hope and how that led to plants and other natural themes appearing in her sculpture. One of her larger sets on display resembled terracotta pots, another manifestation of her garden inspiration.
Gross also has a set of wreaths, each full of different products of nature and the harvest season. Depending on which angle you view the wreaths from, you will see different stages of growth and decay. On discussing the wreaths, Gross noted how they have different associations for different people, which I thought was interesting. For some, they’re associated with Christmas; for others, with Pagan rituals.
As always, I was so happy to be surrounded by such intelligent, creative and generous women. While the artist talk and gallery show didn’t explicitly foreground the importance of appreciating women’s art, I want to draw attention to that here. It feels particularly poignant right now to be able to enter an artistic space where women’s stories and experiences are realized in physical form and given intellectual value.
On that note, I want to encourage you to stop by the Wriston Art Galleries and take a look at the exhibition in the Kohler Gallery. There are two other exhibitions going on right now, both of which are also worth examining: Venerated Art from Mali to Gabon in the Leech Gallery and Brittany Sievers in the Hoffmaster Gallery. The hours for the Wriston Art Galleries are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, noon to 4 p.m.