New Works / Alumni Three is the third in a series of exhibitions featuring distinguished McColl Center alumni artists. Hollis Hammonds, John W. Love, Jr., and Susannah Mira each repurpose varied materials to distinctive artistic ends while reaffirming our relation to everyday objects and the life of the objects beyond their intended use.
Hollis Hammonds (2016), based in Austin, Texas, will recreate Domestic Brutality, a wall-painting and object installation presenting a narrative rooted in the unease and potential of the future. Beloved Charlotte-based artist John W. Love, Jr. (2001, 2012) will generate salt-encrusted objects and combine them with poetic prose in his pursuit of “rescu[ing] the narrative,” “navigat[ing] the human condition,” and capturing the “ungraspable.” Houston artist Susannah Mira (2012) stuffs, folds, stacks, and strings recycled objects into exceedingly complex sculptures in repeated connective processes with the goal of drawing attention to our current trajectory “that emphasizes profits over planetary stewardship.”
The three artists have also conceived of an engaging activity related to their work:
- Using chalkboard markers, Hammonds invites you to join her in creating a unique text-based wall mural, supporting the tradition of peaceful protests against violence.
- Bring a flower doused with the utterances of what you know must be cleaned up. Ignite your desires and Love’s installation by placing them beneath the salty words and relics of this living shrine.
- Weave together fabric remnants sourced from the Charlotte-region’s textile industry to assist in constructing Transforming — A Tactile Artwork with Mira.
New Works / Alumni Three is meant to show us anything can become or is art; it can teach us to find the art everywhere and in everything.
New Works / Alumni Three is curated by Marisa J Pascucci, Visiting Curator, for McColl Center for Art + Innovation.
Artwork: Hollis Hammonds, Domestic Brutality, 2017-19. Acrylic, objects, chalkboard paint, chalk marker; dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist.