Anne Siems, "Hummingbird Girl"
Montserrat College of Art Galleries is proud to present the works of Julie Heffernan, David Ording, Shelley Reed, Erik Thor Sandberg, and Anne Siems in a provocative exhibition of contemporary painting, “A Debt to Pleasure,” curated by Gallery Director Leonie Bradbury. Inspired by the visual and symbolic richness of such diverse painting practices as 17th-century Dutch still lifes, Italian Renaissance master paintings and American folk art, the participating artists integrate the sensual and the sinister, the vulgar and the mysterious to question meaning-making in contemporary art.
An exhibition of technical skill, visual indulgence, and timelessness, “A Debt to Pleasure” presents a series of works that question their place in history. Beyond their flawlessly rendered surfaces, each artist explicitly references stylistic techniques and aesthetics of the past to create a provocative body of work. Allegory and realism are employed to investigate symbolism in painting (past and present), cultural history and the art world’s insistence on originality and obsession with everything new.
The exhibition is on view Feb. 4 – April 2 in the Montserrat Gallery.
Artist Reception, Feb. 3, 5:30 – 8 pm in Montserrat Gallery
Artist Talks in Hardie Bldg, Room 201:
Shelley Reed , Wed., March 9, 11:30 am
Erik Thor Sandberg on Tues., April 12, 11:30 am