November 2016: INsignificant
The Harrison Center for the Arts is pleased to present INsignificant, new work by HCA studio artist and curator Kyle Ragsdale with an artist reception Friday, November 4 from 6 to 9pm. Ragsdale describes how the idea for this show came about as follows:
“Sometimes people call Indiana a flyover state or one of those “I" states. This show came about as I was preparing for a show about the bicentennial. I began to study Indiana history for the first time, having grown up in New Mexico. I started searching through old, antiquated history books and became fascinated with the average Hoosier. So, I started using pictures of nameless people as reference points for my paintings and drawings. While on residency at the Vermont Studio Center, I also took up a wilder, more expressive style with bright colors, interference and metallic paints. I also revisited a style I used about 15 years ago that places silhouettes of figures, sometimes repeated, in abstract color fields. What emerged was a playful, yet reflective study of one of Indiana’s greatest assets, its people. Most, but not all, of the photographs referenced are Civil War era to around 1930.”
Ragsdale grew up in Texas and New Mexico, witnessing from a young age a mix of vibrant cultures and large wild spaces. Since earning degrees at Baylor University (BFA) and Southern Methodist University (MFA), Ragsdale has been painting full time, working periodically as a decorative painter and stage set designer, and making fine art. He has served as curator for exhibits in Texas and Indiana and currently is curator for the Harrison Center for the Arts.
The Speck Gallery features Circling Nothing or: How I Learned to Have Faith and Just Drive, new work by C.J. Martin. "There is a completeness to be found in the struggle towards an end. The work in this show functions as both embodiment and representation of that struggle. God knows, we've got to stop worrying and just keep moving."
The City Gallery, in partnership with Spirit & Place presents Genius Loci: Herman B. Wells and the Spirit of Place. What is “home” and what does it mean to us? We often think of home as the building that offers us refuge from the world, or as the people who call us their own. But what if the essence of home runs deeper than bricks and mortar or a cast of characters? What if the spirit of a place is what makes it “home?” Herman B. Wells, the legendary president of Indiana University, certainly thought so. In this show, artists creatively and uniquely portray what exactly “home” means to them in the hopes that these interpretations will spur on the conversation surrounding what the spirit of home in Indiana truly is.
Hank & Dolly’s Gallery features Pathways, Vessels and Destinations by painter, Will Lutz.
Also that night, performances throughout the evening by the Indianapolis City Ballet in the gym.
With support from: the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the City of Indianapolis, the Indiana Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, Penrod Society, Christel DeHaan Family Foundation, Allen Whitehill Clowes Foundation, the Speck Fund, Sun King Brewery, and Amy McAdams Design.
Member, IDADA (Indianapolis Downtown Artists and Dealers Association)