| Ahren Ahrenholz’s (VT) works are constructed from everyday objects assembled to read as intentionally minimal forms. Mostly painted white, the stripping of the objects’ use, along with their descriptive visual vocabulary, allows Ahrenholz to repurpose their forms and textures to create newly suggestive, non-utilitarian, forms. In a Gathering of Nine, whisk brooms are tied together nestled on a stand, all in white. Wire boxes, roughly hewn wood, paper fans, wire coat hangers, tops of converse tennis shoes, rope, and sawhorses are just a few of the elements to his employ . His work is all about texture and shape. There is no soothing edge, no glossing over, just the raw power of simplicity. This is Ahrenholz’s first one person exhibition in the gallery.
John Fraser, a Chicago resident, received his BA from Roosevelt University, Chicago, and his MFA from Northern Illinois University, Dekalb IL. This is his second one person show here in Nashville.
Fraser’s work for this exhibition consists of selections from on-going series of wall reliefs. Designed for quiet contemplation, the works are constructed from book covers and end pages with found objects, chosen for their inherent beauty, added to help the viewer navigate the landscape of his work. One series of large panel constructions, entitled “Intersections,” address “spatial relationships and geometry (where the planes and shapes intersect), and how it relates to architecture, mapping, topographic views, land boundaries and neighborhoods within a larger plan.” Another series in the show was inspired by Japanese scrolls for “their meditative qualities, and for their contemplative function.” These smaller, vertical works represent Fraser’s more over-arching theme of works that draw the viewer in to investigate the intimate unspoken dialogue between artist and viewer.
His work is included in the collections of the Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI, The Illinois State Museum, Springfield IL and the New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM to list but a few.
Regular gallery hours are Tues – Sat, 10am – 5pm.
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