By: Karley Hamm
Mixed Bag: An Assortment of Contemporary Craft contains works from Max Adrian (Columbus, Ohio), Emily Culver (Richmond, Virginia), Elyse-Krista Mishce (Appleton, Wisconsin), M. Paige Ward (Gatlinburg, Tennessee), and Xia Zhang (Tulsa, Oklahoma). Their exhibition and works are held in the Dedo Maranville Gallery at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia. It consists of multiple works that follow up on social issues, and is explored through many different mediums.
As soon as you walk into the gallery, you will find it to be pretty bare for the size of the room. Dedo Maranville Gallery is not infamous for its huge space, but it is no mere rinky-dinky sort of gallery, either. The works displayed in this exhibition are fairly small and do not fill much of the room. Whether that is a good or bad thing is up to the viewer. The colors of all of the different works share a similar contrast and palette. They have delicate touches of pastels in their works which gives off a sense of light and airy bliss on the white walls.
Entering the gallery, you will find that the majority of the works are hung on the wall, with a small amount of sculptural work throughout. In the exhibition information, it states that this exhibition hopes to address social issues including race, gender, and sexuality, which helps identify the common threads between each artwork and artist biographies. The text panels help the viewer’s understanding of what each artist is aiming to relay, and it describes their works or goals in a way that the viewer may not have even realized. The lighting in the gallery didn’t do much of the works justice. The viewer may find that there is not much light surrounding the piece and only one or two solid lights on each one, causing a lot of shadows and darkness around the pieces.
If there were two pieces that could be the ‘winners’, they would have to be M. Paige Ward’s How Firm A Foundation I made from cast concrete, found pine, and copper plated nails, or Elyse-Krista Mische’s Tether made from papier-mâché, panel, canvas, embroidery, tin foil, acrylic, ink, and graphite. Both pieces emulate what the show is trying to communicate. They are both very muted in color tones, which provides support for the theme, because the theme is about topics that may be difficult to discuss and are not so happy and bright feelings.
papier-mâché, panel, canvas, embroidery, tin foil, gold leaf, thread, acrylic
They both have tension within their pieces, as well. How Firm A Foundation I shows how the culture and society we live in is sinking into the “norm” and Tether shows a sort of pull away that humans have towards or even against each other’s thoughts or opinions. These artists contribute so much to the exhibition that they would definitely be considered the more successful of the group.
This exhibition is worthy of taking a look at because of all the different emotions and topics it focuses on. Their works are more than just “pretty pieces”, and their discussions and ideologies behind each piece is what makes their works worth seeing.
Karley Hamm is currently enrolled at Valdosta State University. In December 2019, she will be graduating with her Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art. Her focus revolves around Graphic Design, but has recently found a love for Ceramics. She is excited to experience what life entails and the challenges she will overcome.