Gallery 2 - Creature Mythos

"Frame of Mind" by Stacey Holloway

Perhaps we've dreamt or have imagined walking through a forest.  Perhaps it's a magical forest where we anticipate meeting new friendly creatures or animals.  And intuitively somehow we know that these creatures can understand us or even talk to us.  We've all imagined what it would be like to have this experience to meet mythical or magical creatures.

Andrew Perry Davis is leading a group show, Creature Mythos, in Gallery 2 at the Harrison Center for the Arts.  Davis, a Ceramics Technician at Herron School of Art,  has worked with clay since his undergraduate studies.  For many like Davis, there is something innate about working with one's hands that gives voice to an idea otherwise inaudible.  "I make art because I find it is easier than expressing myself with words, " Davis says.  Creature Mythos, a combination of artists and art mediums, is the opportunity for Davis and other artists to tell stories.

The show features work inspired by animal myths or mythical animals.  It's an exhibition that explores encounters with famed creatures or imagines new mythical animals.   Artists have either created works from pre-existing myths or created their own.  It's one step closer to making myth reality.

Group shows put together varying artists and ask them to create work based on one theme (in this case, Creature Mythos).  It's a way to see how artists interpret and create in different ways from one idea.   And for Davis, "group shows are an opportunity for connection that I find gratifying."

Participating artists include Andrew Perry Davis, Lesley Baker, Rachel Bleil, Stacey Holloway, Robert Horvath, Aaron Leif Nicholson, and Brandon Schaaf all dealing with a variety of myths.  Here is what to expect.

"Renard's Dream" by Andrew Perry Davis

"Renard's Dream", a ceramic creature mythos by Davis, tells the story of Renard, a fox who outwits and outsmarts the others in the animal kingdom, allowing him to become part of the ruling class.

"Puppycorn", a porcelain creature mythos by Robert Horvath, deals with the imaginative combination of a puppy and horns.  The puppy takes on a more fierce look with the horns.

"Puppycorn" by Robert Horvath

Stacey Holloway's installation, "Frame of Mind", deals with the human fascination with and desire to capture and captivate mythical creatures.

Works range from Horvath's smaller porcelain pieces to Stacey Holloway's large installation.  It is a spectacular, eclectic exhibit sure to spur the viewer's imagination whether it's to a chance encounters in a forest with famed creatures or exploring new realms with other artists own myths.

Come to the Harrison Center for the Arts to experience how these artists have interpreted Creature Mythos. Gallery hours are Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm and the show hangs in Gallery No. 2 through January 25.  For more information about the Harrison Center, visit us online at http://www.harrisoncenter.org/