Imago Foundation for the Arts (IFA) is hosting a new group exhibit featuring IFA exhibiting artist Meredith Wolf, spotlight IFA exhibiting artist Catherine Moylan, invited guest artist William Brennan as well as other IFA artists from March 20 – April 27 at Imago Gallery, 36 Market Street, Warren, RI.
The public is invited to attend a complimentary reception for the artists on Saturday, March 22 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM with musical accompaniment provided by Joe Parillo, an award-winning jazz pianist.
Wolf has titled her work in the exhibit, “Merging with Thalassa” in reference to the sea goddess Thalassa, the divine personification of the sea in Greek mythology. She says, “I have always felt a profound connection to the ocean. I am enthralled by the depths and intrigued by what may reside there.” Her large, abstract paintings reflect her explorations of spirituality and energy healing and the oceanic realms she has experienced during trances guided by shamans. In addition to viewing her paintings, Wolf is also offering visitors an immersive oceanic experience using light and sound in an adjacent section of the gallery.
She says “As an organic painter, I do not plan my work, but sea nymphs and other ocean life seem to keep appearing in the swirls of color in my canvases. I imagine myself as one of them and then I envision Thalassa appearing. She envelops me, eliciting the desire that we merge and become one. Perhaps together we can help stop the environmental carnage.”
Wolf holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University and later earned an art education certificate from Montclair University in New Jersey. She was inducted into the National Association of Women Artists and has shown her works in dozens of venues including galleries, museums, libraries and others in New England and the Tri-State area.
In this exhibit, she hopes viewers can experience the beauty still found in the depths of the ocean and feel a visceral connection to it and invites people to imagine what we, merged with Thalassa, could do for the future of the sea.
Spotlighted IFA exhibiting artist Moylan creates internal landscapes from paint with acrylic on human-made materials, including Duralar, recycled plastic food containers and window screen which are embellished with beads, wire, fabric and paper maché to conjure nature’s mystery, exuberance and disequilibrium. The materials’ transformation speaks to the concept of stepping from this physical world into the next—one of magic or Anthropocene nightmare.
Her work in the exhibit which she calls “Deep Time in the Holy Well” speaks to the deep connection she feels to humanity in general and to her Irish ancestors specifically while in nature. Holy wells in Ireland are still visited by people who leave trinkets, ribbons and meaningful objects by the wells, honoring their pre-Christian ancestors whose stories of gods and goddesses were a response to natural experiences and events thousands of years ago. These stories and songs were documented by monks beginning in the 7th century and changed to reflect newer Christian beliefs.
Moylan is a member of the Crit Lab, a creative incubator and cohort of artists worldwide who meet monthly to discuss their artwork and routinely participate in exhibitions in New York City and throughout New England. She studied art at the former Art Institute of Boston (now Leslie University).
Guest artist, William Brennan is an award-winning photographer based in Cranston, Rhode Island, who has photographed in Rhode Island and on extensive travels throughout the world for many years. He describes his quest this way: “If in the beginning was the Word, then Light followed soon after. Form, texture, tone, shade and shadow take their sustenance from the light. My photography embodies a quest to capture this light. I draw upon intuition, experience and impulse. The driving passion of this process is the possibility of transcending the point-of-view and being completely in the moment.”
IFA exhibiting artists besides Wolf and Moylan, who will be participating in this group exhibit include Dot Bergen, Jim Cain, Bill Chisholm, David Clarke, Eileen Siobhan Collins, Mary Dondero, Stephen Fisher, Philip Gruppuso, Gary Heise, Carl Keitner, Lisa Lowenstein, Eileen Mayhew, Linda Megathlin, Rina Naik, Mercedes Nuñez, Anne Marie Rossi, Howard Rotblat-Walker, Lenny Rumpler, Duff Schweninger and Howard Windham.
Regular hours at Imago Gallery for the exhibit are
Thursdays 12:00 - 3:00 PM
Fridays and Saturdays from 12:00 - 6:00 PM
Sundays 12:00 - 4:00 PM.
IFA is a non-profit organization run by artists for artists whose mission is to inspire creativity and promote art-making that enriches our communities.
