Sixteen artists in Nelsonville and the Athens area pay dues each month to the Majestic Galleries in order to maintain a space for their art exhibits.
“They are a really welcoming group of people,” said Katie Bruhn, an intern for the gallery and a graduate student studying Southeast Asian studies. “They are very eager to connect with the community as well as the students.”
This month, Rachel Clark features her exhibit named “Looking for Bodhisattva: East Meets the Mid-West Coast,” as well as Geoff Schenkel’s work “Victorian Brain Architecture,” until Sept. 23.
Clark’s work focuses on destruction in the form of natural disasters and political disasters depicted with piles of rubble from Athens’ iconic bricks.
Images of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as earthquakes, hurricanes and the financial housing collapse can seem grim, she added, but the colors incorporated into the work are intended to invoke a sense that things will get better.
“I’m trying to find hope,” Clark said. “There are moments of optimism … It’s about finding spirituality amidst the chaos and destruction.”
The paintings were heavily influenced by the band Steely Dan as well as The Beatles’ George Harrison, who was very immersed in Indian culture and spirituality.
Clark said that Steely Dan and Harrison had a certain humor to their music that comes out in her paintings to add to the sense of optimism being expressed.
Schenkel’s exhibit is much different in that it features 3-D sculptures and utilizes found objects to compliment the theme.
“The theme is touching on issues in small Appalachian towns in Ohio,” Bruhn said. “The frames and installation pieces are all items you might find in a small town — a lot of tools and what not.”
The exhibit, like Clark’s, is about change. Schenkel focuses on change in small-town Appalachia from 20 years ago to present day, looking at the political, social and cultural change in the area.
A third smaller room in the gallery will feature a display of various paintings and drawings this month by Clark that she had started but never finished. Several artists from the gallery finished the paintings in their own way and are now showcased in the room.
The gallery offers internships to local students who are interested in this independent, artist-run gallery, and they hope the community takes notice of their new artists on the last Friday of every month.
wh092010@ohiou.edu
