ELEMENTS: MICHAEL GAYK AND CARRIE BECKER

Through graceful and poetic use of materials and form, Becker and Gayk forge an unexpected relationship between the natural and artificial worlds while echoing prosthetic devices, hybrid creatures and mutations. "Elements" opens to the public on September 2 and runs through January 7, 2012.

Using complex and simple formations found in nature, Carrie Becker creates installations and photographs that replicate plant and animal cell structures. Becker’s organic sculptural forms employ the use of biomorphic shapes to illicit a visceral response while employing common materials like tissue paper, foam, nylon, gauze and wax. Each work exists in a space that lies between the natural and the man-made, the known and the unreal, the recognized and the unrecognized.

Combining the tradition of decorative craft with current technology, Michael Gayk uses jewelry and sculpture to redefine the structure of the human body both functionally and symbolically. Inspired by the subtle parts of the human form, internal organs and circulatory systems, Gayk explores digital manufacturing technologies that can alter the physiology of the human body. He examines how access to these same technologies becomes popularized and a part of public discourse. 

Admission to the gallery and following events is free and open to the public:

- Opening Reception // Friday, September 23 from 6 to 9 PM
- Gallery Talk: Becker and Gayk // Saturday, October 8 at 1 PM