Bill Botzow - Joan Hanley - Melanie Mowinski - Malaika Ross - Gregory Scheckler -
Ashley Eliza Williams
October 6 - November 17 at Gallery 51
Opening reception October 6, 5:00-7:00pm
Reflecting Ecologies: Artists in Nature explores the intersections of contemporary
artists, nature, and ecological thinking. Ecology is the study of the relationships
among organisms and their surroundings and each other, often describing how we affect
and are affected by the natural world. The artists in this exhibit suggest connections
with ecologies via personal narratives of private moments in nature, to philosophical
or artistic concerns about their media and approaches to imagery. The artists and
artworks in this show often overlap with science-oriented imagery or methods, and
with that comes careful observations of the human condition in nature. Ashley Eliza
Williams’ colorful paintings develop concepts of the possibility and impossibility
of communicating with organisms found in nature. Malaika Ross’s abstract drawings
of soil microbes encourage us to examine the microscopic shapes and patterns that
exist around us, that are often overlooked. Melanie Mowinski’s intensive journeys
to water became a daily practice of endurance, logged as an intimate artist’s book.
Bill Botzow’s sculptures stem from wood often from invasive species crafted into new
artistic forms borne of his backyard in Vermont. Gregory Scheckler’s delicate abstract
silverpoints deal with relationships to time and patterns derived from close observation
of nature. And Joan Hanley’s fine-tuned paintings detail commonplace conundrums of
our place and influence on nature. The exhibit is hosted by MCLA Gallery 51 and runs
from October 6th through November 17th, 2023.
