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“Perceptions of Reality” Reception
Wednesday, September 11 , 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm CDT
Perceptions of Reality
Curatorial Statement
Curators: Eric Burton, Eva Gabel, Lydia Mcniff, and Katie Novotny
Participating Artists: Audrey Carswell, Anthony Frasca, Draper Matthews, Kolin Wilkins
What is reality? Is it absolute? What dictates an objective state of reality? Perspectives of Reality is a small group exhibition that brings together work that explores artist perspectives and how they reflect both individual and collective realities. Reality, as defined, is “the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.” But what does this definition offer in the context of both art and life—when individual epistemologies, notional ideas, lived experience, and perception of others are active forces that shape our very reality.
Audrey Carswell’s painting fits into the theme of perceptions of reality because the images are based off photographs, not from reality itself. They also evoke memories of a specific time and place which is a form of a personal, distant reality.
Anthony Frasca’s digitally-produced artwork titled Are You Sure No One is Watching? is focused on the artist’s fear that people are always watching him and judging what he is doing, what he looks like, and who he is with. While that is the meaning he attaches to it, the work invites interpretation from the audience to find other meaning in it. Maybe it is about a friend that passed away that you see everywhere, or even about a ghost that haunts your dreams. The meaning is up to you, not the artist.
Draper Matthew’s sculpture Unfastened I portrays two bolts, one is intact while the other has ruptured revealing its contents. These two states of being are illustrating contradictive perspectives of reality. Whether one is better than the other is to be determined by the viewer.
Kolin Wilkins’ painting captures the artists perspective of people around him. The oil paint allows for a distorted subject, possibly reflecting the mindset of the artist at the time.
In forming this exhibition, curators Eric Burton, Eva Gabel, Lydia Mcniff, and Katie Novotny each held a studio visit with an individual artist to learn more about their work and processes. After studio visits, the curatorial team came together to ideate a theme for the exhibition; this process of working “backwards” from each artists’ practice allowed the team to find commonalities between artists and holistically define the focus of the exhibition. As artists and art historians themselves, the curators offered studio visits not as a means to an end, but as a reciprocal gesture: improving the curator’s own ability to critically analyze work while strengthening peer ties within our ISU artist community and taking on the ethical responsibility of being a visitor to another artist’s studio.
Gallery Hours available online:
https://finearts.illinoisstate.edu/events-activities/airport-gallery
