Re:Connecting Reception
"Re:connecting," featuring the work of Liz Antle-O'Donnell, Julie Fraenkel and Matthew Garrett. Artist talk @ 3pm, w/ reception to follow.
ABOUT THE SHOW: While meditating on the exhibition’s theme, photographer Matthew Garrett states: “For me, Re:connecting is an aspirational concept. A dream – often unrealized – to share space with the people, places, and things that were once a regular part of my life, and are now more loosely bonded.” For Garrett, this includes photography. As readily accessible cameras and instantaneous results have changed the field, he finds himself with a different relationship to his art form. He states: “In my own case, photography has become something done more from habit, than from inspiration. Creating images is alarmingly easy in this digital age, and steps must be taken to make things just a little more difficult – a little more intentional. This work draws from both habitual and intentional instincts.” Facing creative challenges of her own, Liz Antle-O’Donnell’s recent works present a kind of reconnection to self. She writes: “Over the last few years, I have found it increasingly difficult to find time for art-making. As an artist, this inability to let your creative juices flow feels like a physical constipation … Working (finally) and without a preconceived thematic plan, these recent works unfold to present a juxtaposition between the hectic day-to-day, and what happens to our inner selves when we neglect basic self care.” Simultaneously, Julie Fraenkel’s recent works explore concepts of connecting and longing. The artist states: “Recognizing that I nearly always depict people alone, I set out to create images with more than one person, and images that imply another presence, or absence. In doing so I realized that in most cases the second person turned out to be unreal — a figure from a dream, perhaps, a memory or phantasm, or literally a figure of imagination. Something that couldn’t be shaken or something that was never there. All of which brought up questions for me: are we always alone? Are we never alone? The current direction of my work explores these questions.” For more information: www.KehlerLiddellGallery.com. Artist talks presented by ArtEcon Initiative and made possible with support from the Pincus Family Foundation, and Department of Economic and Community Development, CT Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.