“To hold time is an abstract undertaking,” says Penland Gallery director Kathryn Gremley. Artists do this, she explains, by absorbing and interpreting moments or spans of time and then giving them form and substance. A new exhibition at the gallery, titled Witness: holding time, features work by six artists who explore this idea. The show runs through June 4 with a reception on Friday, March 31 from 4:30 to 6:30 PM.
Central to the exhibition is a video, titled Dream Prayer Observatory, by Dan Bailey. This piece was created by layering thousands of images made over a three-month period by a camera installed on the southern coast of Tasmania. This work, he says, attempts to observe and record a landscape with a rhythm that suggests a geologic time scale.
Sculptor Kento Saisho is represented in the exhibition by a series of textured steel forms reminiscent of geologic formations. These are complemented by sculptural ceramic vessels made by Erica Iman. Also included is one of Erica’s paintings made by pouring iron oxide solution onto nearly vertical panels. The resulting image records the travel of the pigment down the panel while looking a bit like a mountain vista.
Two large installations by Amy Tavern are accumulations of dozens and dozens of similar elements made from paper: one of these might suggest a pool being taken over by a water plant, and the other, titled Universe (Blue and Black) evokes the night sky. A handmade book by Marianne Dages uses hazy images and short texts to travel through a series of dreams. Morgan Hill’s piece in the show was inspired by a childhood memory and creates an image of stained hands using tiny beads embroidered onto white gloves.
Each artist has found their own way to capture a piece of time and present it to the
viewer. Placed together, these works create a space of reflection and contemplation.
Also on view at the Penland Gallery is a small show of ceramics by Justin Rothshank and prints by Heinrich Toh. Both of these artists use combinations of images to create intriguing compositions. Heinrich’s works are made using layers of multiple printmaking techniques. The images on the surface of Justin’s functional ceramics are created with custom-made decals and metallic lusters.
The Penland Gallery also includes a sales gallery with work in many different media by artists associated with Penland School of Craft. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It’s the first building on your right as you enter the Penland School campus, which is located on Conley Ridge Road just off of Penland Road in Mitchell County. For more information visit penland.org/gallery or call 828-284-6211.
PHOTO above: Amy Tavern, Ellipse, paper
Penland School of Craft is a national center for craft education dedicated to the creative life. Located in Western North Carolina, Penland offers workshops in books and paper, clay, drawing and painting, glass, iron, metals, printmaking and letterpress, photography, textiles, and wood. The school also provides artists’ residencies, an outreach program, and a gallery and visitors center. Penland is a nonprofit, tax-exempt institution that receives support from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resource. More information at penland.org.
