Current Exhibition
Gone to the Dogs by Will Douglas
(From the artist)
Will Douglas’s Gone to the Dogs, is a body of work that investigates drive and desire. December 27th, 2020, was the closure of Greyhound racing at Derby Lane, the oldest continuously operating Greyhound track in the world.
The repetitive images in this series are created with losing tickets from the final day of these races. The cyanotype wagering tickets are hand cut to create object-like images that accentuates the physical nature of the ticket in the hand of the wagerer, who rubs, rolls, folds, and fondles the ticket in anticipation of a possible win, and who will inevitably lose with each consecutive bet.
Each work is a unique hand cut object. The choice to work in editions of one speaks directly to the to greyhounds that were wagered on in these races. The title of the artworks reference the greyhounds that were bet on at the time of the race. In addition to these tickets, prints that feature images of programs, and dog muzzles, made in the same year are present.
On the first anniversary of the closure of the dog track, the artist revisited Derby Lane to document the space creating pictorial investigations of a place that once provided a spectacle and is now a vessel for a performance of the past. After investigating the themes present in the culture of dog racing, Douglas states “Gone to the Dogs is about losing and seeking paradise.”
Previous Exhibitions
A Common Thread by Kevin Mierez-Galo
Kevin Mierez-Galo is a self taught artist from the Jacksonville, Florida. He has a background in classical music and considers himself a multi-disciplinary artist with current a focus on visual art through use of fibers, printmaking, and ceramics. His art draws inspiration from his family’s Central and South American heritage, indigenous culture, meditation, and Earth herself.
Through his process, Mierez-Galo found a new form of expression in tapestry weaving. In contrast to his thoughtfully crafted printmaking and painting projects, weaving has allowed him to express his full range of emotions and document them in each piece. These tapestries are Mierez-Galo’s way to express his experiences visually and illustrate his understanding of the world.
“A Common Thread” is a fiber arts show that offers a different approach to the ancient art forms that are tapestry weaving and rug making. Weaving in Latin America has been dated back all the way to 5000 B.C. In this exhibit, Mierez-Galo shows an innate connection with weaving that he feels is passed down to him ancestrally. He feels as if tapestry weaving allows him to stick to his roots, honor his Salvadoran and Venezuelan ancestors, and make something thought provoking at the same time.
Through Mierez-Galo’s obsession with texture, tapestry weaving has taken on a life of its own. The pieces separate themselves from the walls and engage with his audiences in a socially dynamic way. The visibly tangible textures of each fiber tempt spectators, and make one want to feel the way each work is woven together.
View the online exhibit HERE
Connect with the artist through Instagram HERE
Over the Fence by Rhonda Massel Donovan
During the coronavirus pandemic we met new challenges through a lack of contact. Media updates on the worldwide spread and ever rising death toll were only interrupted by video of crowds crying out “I can’t breathe” as a call to justice for George Floyd, and all those plagued by the pandemic of racism.
This social concern had been placed on the back burner one too many times, but under the strain of COVID-19 distancing, protestors came together and found their voice.
These forever linked events have provoked a project I call Over the Fence, the best way to describe the fields of distance between us and the limits pushed to force change. Reminders collected as a result of these conditions are the foundation of this body of work. Each piece sums up a day, or a series of events in one visual moment, some things yearned for and some dreaded.