The Slow Heroics of the Soil Builder contemplates visual expression as a kind of experimental gardening. Dylan Blanchard illustrates the nature of art making as it relates to our connection with the Earth. His practice is rooted in a steady, chaotic, and observatory process (much like that of the garden) somewhere between farm, lawn, and field, between well tended and wild. Within his work, faces might emerge and hints of small creatures appear surrounded by gently swooping strokes that feel at the same time aquatic, wind-driven, and humanistic. As Blanchard describes, “I take real inspiration from the living nature of this earth we are bound to, came from, and are walking on; the elements of the earth that all thought is born from: rock and salt, worms and wind, roots and branches, waves, clouds and rain.” The installation inside the Frame 301 Gallery contains painterly observations as well as photographed relics, which relate to Blanchard’s constant exploration of our tumultuous relationship with our planet.
Blanchard brings a robust, varied background to his art-making practice. After studying at Maine College of Art in Portland, ME, Blanchard spent several years immersed in Portland’s music scene as a percussionist. Teaching, traveling, and touring the United States, Brazil, and Cuba has lead him to work primarily with Afro-Caribbean dance companies in NYC, and the Albany, NY-based Taina Asili y la Banda Rebelde. Blanchard has performed with Glover, VT-based Bread and Puppet Theater Company as well as Theater in the Open, a Newburyport, MA company. These cross-platform experiences continue to inform Blanchard’s visual art practice, which often contains performative aspects and an exploratory nature.
Frame 301 is an alternative display space located at 301 Cabot Street in Beverly, MA. Each month this storefront window is installed with the work of local, national or international artists. The space represents an integration of the creative cultures of Montserrat College of Art and the local community. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Beverly Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.