June 25 - August 5, 2016
Curated by Shannon Currie Holmes
ARTISTS
Carlos Beltran-Arechiga, Nicholette Kominos, Melissa Manfull, Kristan Marvell, Sonja Schenk
The artists in Gravitas challenge an evolution of perception. Working in various mediums: painting, drawing, sculpture and installation, the artists are able to create work that upon first viewing appears to have the physicality of weight; of gravity. concrete blocks, monolithic forms, sturdy structures, complex constructions and yet upon further reflection, the viewer is led to question the tangibility of the fabrications in from of them. Encouraged to move beyond aesthetic beauty, the question of intent arises and a search for meaning and interpretation begins. In short, the viewer is challenged to evolve their perception.
The etymology of the word gravitas holds an inverse path to the artwork presented. The original definition of the word started in the figurative; full of interpretation and impression .It was something someone could hold in the air of their manner, yet could not hold in their hands and feel. The introduction of Newton's Universal Law of Gravitation changed our perception of the word and the "weight" that gravitas once held now bears the conviction of an unchangeable Universal Law - Gravity. In paradox, it is precisely through the substantive quality of the art that an evolution of perception is inspired, leading to the immaterial; leading to Gravitas.