The Weight of Ruin and Beauty: The Artwork of Mary Grisey
You are cordially invited to the next art exhibit at Hibbleton Gallery, entitled “The Weight of Ruin and Beauty” featuring the work of Mary Grisey. The opening reception is Friday, September 2 from 6-10pm during the Downtown Fullerton Art Walk. As always, this event is FREE and open to the public.
Artist Statement:
How do we understand, connect with and react to traces of the metaphysical? My work is about becoming, a process that encompasses both doing and undoing; energy goes into my materials and then there is a natural or simulated process of destruction. Transformation is central to my practice: a metamorphosis that reveals the ruin and beauty of both the body and the psyche. With the intention of revealing layers and residual deterioration, I unravel, scratch, burn and peel parts of the work. I use many natural materials in my practice—particularly linen, sisal rope and dye—which exude a distinct smell and permeate the senses before the demanding visuality commands attention. This address to the olfactory helps to create an active environment rather than a static installation. My works, unlike the products of conventional fiber practices, bear traces of my hand—bits of imperfect or unfinished warp and weft—and the inexact results of hand-dyeing. Parts of the work are undone, unmade and unraveled, lending credence to their indeterminate nature. While the process of weaving, in its demanding repetition and methodical rhythm, is a contemplative endeavor typically exact in execution, the ruinous state of these works points to my interest in the limits of the physical and preoccupation with the ethereal. I am fascinated by the connection between the physical and metaphysical, and, in this vein, I take ancient mythology, metamorphosis, ruination and entropy as inspirations in my work. Like ruins, my works are remnants of what was once whole; they are inscribed with traces of their previous life, death endured and the hereafter. My works embody these remnants that prefigure thought and feeling.
Bio:
Mary Grisey is a sculptural installation artist based in Los Angeles, California. She received an MFA in the Visual Arts program at York University in Toronto (2014), a BFA in Fiber and Material Studies from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2008) and a BA in Painting and Drawing from Marist College (2006). She has exhibited her work in New York, Chicago, Kentucky, San Francisco and Toronto. She was recently awarded the Windgate full fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center for the Spring of 2016 and the Samuel Sarick Purchase Prize. Select solo exhibitions include Of Becoming at York University (2014), Sung From the Mouth of Cumae at The Art Gallery of Mississauga (2015) and Cloth Dripping at Xpace Gallery (2016). Select group exhibitions include Refined Linen at Katzman Contemporary (2014), Escape Plans at YTB Gallery (2015) and Loose Ends at Typology Projects (2016).
Love,
Hibbleton Gallery
www.hibbleton.com
Mary Grisey
www.marygrisey.com
The Magoski Arts Colony
www.magoskiartscolony.com
The Downtown Fullerton Art Walk
www.fullertonartwalk.com