Exhibitions
Tangled Art Gallery
November 15, 2024 - January 31, 2025
Fragile
The experience of "reconnection" to the natural world is at the heart of Fragile. Gillian Genser has created sculptures using fragments from our endangered biosphere - from shells and bones, withered leaves, and the delicate last vestiges of insects. In 2017, she discovered that her intimate work with these ecological materials had been unexpectedly exposing her to some of the very pollutants (lead, arsenic, cadmium) that damage this beautiful planet. She suffered a devastating and transformative injury.
In this fragile place, she uncovered a profound empathy for the natural world that struggles in the wake of human progress and consumption. But through her dark journey also came the gift of discovery.
The sculptures that have emerged from her journey through poisoning are beautiful affirmations of both the fragility and resiliency of life.
Formed from the memories and testament of lives that have passed unnoticed, these sculptures are, in themselves, fractured vessels that can be split wide open. As we explore their hidden layers, we are propelled towards discovery - on every level reminded of the interconnectedness of all life.
Amidst these many fragments from our broken world, this work also uncovers the wounds to our planet as they reverberate throughout our own societies. It speaks of isolation and transformation, echoing the often lonely and overlooked existence of so many among us who have experienced profound change.
This exhibition embraces their remarkable journeys, as our path to reconnection is illuminated by all that is most fragile.
Photo credits: Marina Dempster @marinadempstersculptor
Lyceum Gallery
September 28 - October 28, 2023
Echoes
This work has been made of the fractured remains from inhabitants of our endangered world: shells and bones, nests, fallen branches and the delicate last vestiges of insects. Although these lives have unfolded and expired beyond our awareness, they've left a trace, an aura of memory, as final testament to their existence.
In the early 2000’s, artist Gillian Genser began working on a sculpture of the biblical figure of Adam that would transform her life utterly. She hoped to reframe a story of domination, subjugation and control as a narrative that explored the interconnected, symbiotic relationship we have with the natural world. In the process of creation, however, the artist encountered destruction.
Through the fine grinding of the mussel shells that formed Adam's body, Gillian was exposed to some of the very pollutants (arsenic, cadmium and lead) that plague our planet. It was a devastating injury from which she will never fully recover.
In this fragile place, Gillian uncovered a profound empathy for the suffering and sorrow of the natural world that struggles and cleaves in the wake of human progress and consumption. Out of this dark journey also came the gift of discovery…the sculptures that emerged from her struggle through poisoning were beautiful testaments to the interconnectedness of all life.
Each work is a fractured vessel that splits wide open to reveal many layers within. Every surface detail and each removable component is a reliquary that holds the hidden story of the creature whose remains form its structure. They propel us toward discovery and carry the hope of amending our rift with the natural world. Echoes is dedicated to the memory of Gillian’s brother, David Genser, who lived and died in isolation due to illness, and to all those who have been transformed by injury or chance who find themselves in need of healing and restoration.
For more information, please visit The Lyceum Gallery Website.
Photo credits: Marina Dempster @marinadempstersculptor
Rapp Museum
April 19 - 20, 2022
Looking Inward
