Collage: “Range of Possibilites” at SMI

May 20 – August 12, 2011

Considering Collage at the SMI @ Academy Square Gallery (first floor) features the work of artists who work primarily in the collage medium. Each was selected by curator Pam Cooper to “reflect the range of the possibility of collage.”
“They have constructed their pieces from handmade and precious papers, photographs, newspaper and magazine clippings, images of sacred texts, monoprints, and collected objects,” Cooper says. “They have used collage techniques within paintings and painted on top of their collages. Their works include minimalist abstractions, realistic landscapes, snapshots into daily life, and elaborate works of obsessive detail. Some of the artists use traditional collage techniques such as photomontage while others use the colors and patterns of their source materials to “paint” pictures in much the same way as painters use a palette. This exhibit displays the boundless and exciting options of the medium of collage.”
An artist herself, Cooper uses mixed media in her sculpture, papermaking and printmaking work. She has curated exhibitions for a number of non-profit organizations in the Metro area and has also served as a corporate art consultant and curator for the past five years.
The featured artists are Emily Barnett, Virginia S. Block, Circe Dunnell, Cecily Firestein, Linda Ippolito, Elizabeth Smith Jacobs, Rachel Leibman, Katy Murphy, Barbara Straussberg, and Paula Stark.