One Plus One Equals
Artists: Lisa Moriarty, Nancy Uline, Regina Bos, Susan Justus and Trey Hoffmann
Curator: Bonny Leibowitz
Dates: December 5, 2024 – January 2, 2024
Artist Reception: December 7, 6-8pm
For this exhibition, I challenged artists to make one large wall-based work and either one large ceiling or floor-based work. The works could have many components and extend into the space in any configuration they choose. The goal is to bring forth concepts naturally inherent in the work, in conversation with the space and the body.
As a group, we met monthly to share our questions, thoughts, ideas and processes and to dialog about art and come to know one another.
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Exhibitions curated by Bonny Leibowitz are with artists who have worked with her One on One in recent years, developing their body of work. To find out more about One on Ones and ways to further your work and career, go to One on Ones.
Bonny Leibowitz website
bonny@bonnyleibowitz.com
214-405-5993
About the Artists
Lisa Moriarty, Wave Worn
“Wave Worn” encapsulates the enchanting hues of seaglass, worn smooth by the passage of time, as if an entire layer of this colorful glass is embodied within a graceful wave. This transformation elegantly turns the inherent hardness of glass into a gentle expression of softness and delicacy, inviting viewers to engage with the beauty of the ocean in a fresh, profound way.
The undulating waves depicted in this piece mimic the natural movement of water, facilitating a sensory exploration of the rhythmic ebb and flow of the tides. Subtle transitions between hues reflect the ever-changing colors of the sea, enriching the sense of movement and vitality throughout the composition.
Each shift in tone serves as a nuanced reflection of seaglass, prompting contemplation of our deep and intricate connections with nature. The dynamic interplay of light and shadows creates moments of translucency and opacity, shifting in response to the viewers’ changing perspectives, further enhancing the artwork’s liveliness.
As a reflective homage to the calming power of the ocean, “Wave Worn” stands as a poignant reminder of the restorative qualities inherent in the sea. It invites viewers to immerse themselves in a peaceful embrace, offering solace within the flowing beauty of water and the artistry of nature, ultimately evoking a profound sense of tranquility and an intimate connection to the natural world.
Nancy Uline, Sight_Double Site
Sight_Double Site is an installation and commentary by Nancy Uline on the ongoing struggle to save the major land art piece by Mary Miss at Des Moines Art Center commissioned decades ago. The work considers questions surrounding the responsibility of institutions to maintain their holdings.
Regina Bos, Endurance
Many of us have a burden, a sadness, a secret, a hidden trauma that we are dealing with or continue to deal with for our entire lives. We hide away the fear and pain while endlessly searching for a place of safety, love and acceptance. A home.
Endurance represents the overwhelmed individual with its many tendrils, wading its way through the everyday slog of existence. Grasping onto what we can and what we all have to endure. Bracing against anxiety just to get through basic tasks of life, like driving a car or entering a store. With legs of jelly, feet numb, head dizzy, are you even breathing? How is it possible to even breathe? Am I real?
Endurance becomes about finding peace, whether in a physical space or within yourself, seeking something that can see us through the storm. Despite the challenges, we all endure, navigating life’s struggles in the hope of finding the love and acceptance we all need. It’s the strength in our vulnerability that binds us to this shared human journey.
Susan Justus, French Broad River Runs through Marshall
The River is majestic and Marshall is a small historic town that thrives nearby, separated only by a train track. Recently, Hurricane Helene produced enough rain to cause the river to rise to the record breaking level of twenty six feet. The previous record was recorded in the late 1800’s at twenty one feet. Trees, cars, industrial plastics and all manner of debris remain embedded and wedged in the river’s islands, banks and bridges represented in this piece by the erosion cloth. Unfortunately, the combination of development and climate change have released an entirely new potential for damage to the sensitive areas of our precious mountain environment. This piece depicts a small fragment of the damage done. My intent is to bring witness to this occurrence and the resiliency of the people living in the area.
Trey Hoffmann, The Nature of Mutability
Are You Being Manipulated?
I’ve been thinking about the way pressures, frameworks, materials, elements, and imagination shape our perspectives, so I’ve been exploring and addressing the question of manipulation through my art. In these pieces, I used a variety of forces, heat, and paint to transform wire, zip ties, and commercial Tyvek into sculptures, experimenting with the different ways manipulation causes change and digging into discovering how art can be a means of holding a space that encourages a change in perspective.
I love working in many media, but one thing that’s consistent in all of them is my desire to manipulate shape, form, color, and texture to create something that actively engages the viewer by being both thought-provoking and pleasing to the eye. One of my favorite ways to do that is to take something completely unexpected and reveal the beauty in it. That often means that making my art is like working a puzzle where I have to figure out how to combine disparate elements to make the beauty I see in irregular, imperfect, discarded, or unexpected items visible to others, thus, in a way, manipulating the viewer in some ways just as I manipulate the materials and am manipulated myself, both forming and gaining new understandings and points of view.