‘Evident’ combines mediums to create familiarity in abstraction
BY: CHRIS HUTSON
Staff Writer
On Jan. 18 students and faculty were invited to the opening of a collaboration between Meramec’s own Ken Wood and sculptor Arny Nadler. Housed in the Humanities East art gallery, the exhibition, entitled “Evident,” features a mixture of both traditional prints and ceramic sculptures.
“Arny and I found each other a long time ago,” said Wood. “He’s the sculptor, I’m the printmaker. But there are some aspects of our work that overlap.”
According to Wood, both his work and Nadler’s study gestures and the idea of layering and working with abstraction in ways that remind viewers of the human form.
“The curves that happen, the landscape curves, the body curves. As you walk around them you might see some connotations that remind you of a human nose over there, or animal legs,” said Wood. “We both sort of skirt between abstraction and things that are somewhat representational or remind you of something.”
Wood said he hopes that viewers can appreciate the similarities between his art form and Nadler’s despite obvious differences in medium and form; 2D versus 3D and color versus black and white.
Sculptor Nadler said that he collaborated with Wood to determine the pieces to submit to the gallery beginning with those they felt would “anchor” the show.
“We spent a lot of time thinking about the sculpture and then the print behind it,” said Nadler. Meramec alumni Wolfgang Ibur, who had his work featured in the Meramec gallery last semester, also attended the opening. He described the show as “interesting” and noted that the two artists’ pieces work well together.
“It’s very oddly figurative ceramic works. Very dark grey, and black colors. Very bright, very 60’s, 70’s style figurative painting works that you wouldn’t think go well together but mesh well,” said Ibur.
Student Hannah Decuir seconded Ibur’s commentary.
“I think it’s really interesting,” said Decuir. “There’s a lot of different pieces. I really like all the different colors and all the different mediums.”
“Evident” will be featured in the Humanities East art gallery until Feb. 6. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday.
