CURRENT EXHIBITION:

Work on Paper is Kent Mikalsen’s work, which will open on September 18, with a reception that evening from 5:30 – 7 pm.

Mikalsen, a resident of Williamstown, grew up in New York City and earned

degrees from the University of Florida, focusing primarily on sculpture. His

extensive work has been included in prestigious regional and national shows and

major museum collections, and he received commissions for large outdoor

sculptures. His work also includes experience as a designer and concept artist in

architecture, as well as visual effects for feature firm, animation, and

entertainment park design.

At the height of his career Mikalsen recognized that his life had a certain lacking

and unfulfillment. He moved into an ashram and for ten years studied yoga,

meditation, and other transformational processes. He states that this experience

had a profound effect on his art, that his work “became a meditation on the

nature of non-physical reality.”

The current exhibit features, as the title states, works on paper. The drawings

deal with the same concepts as his sculptures do: the dialogue of the ethereal and

large, heavy materials.

All Knox Gallery events are admission free. Exhibits can be viewed during library

hours (see back page of this issue). Mikalsen’s works on paper will be on view

through October 24, and will be followed by Laura Chester’s Shovels and

Chandeliers.

Our annual community group show is coming up, with an opening the first week

of December. Rather than a content or image idea, we thought making this year’s

prompt a specific format would be fun! We hope all artists will develop a piece

for Pillars. Each piece must be at least twice as tall as it is wide, no more than 300

square inches total and no more than 36” high, including frame. The “Intent to

Enter” form, which will include additional clarification, will be available on the

library website the first week in November, and needs to be submitted by

November 29.

PREVIOUS EXHIBITION:

The Knox Gallery is exhibiting Seams and Strands, work by Michelle Raszl, from July 31 – September 12. We featured a brief introduction on the exhibit, along with some photos, in the July Monterey News.

Raszl lives and works in the Berkshires, and explores various media. Her commitment to her longtime work as a librarian and language teacher is evidenced, for example, by the work she exhibited recently that was created from old books. (see her website michelleraszlart.com)

Her current emphasis with fiber and fabric was cultivated during her year-long Artist Residency in Urubamba, Peru, to learn about traditional materials and dye methods of the Quechua people, who are direct descendants of the ancient Incan civilization. Indigenous people of South America’s Andes Mountains, the Quechua are spread across the continent, but the largest communities are in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador.

As the artist realized, fiber-- yarn and textiles – have an innate appeal to humans. Different cultures have developed unique (but often similar) dyeing, stitching, and fabric making techniques. We create fabric for practical purposes, but also to express cultural and religious ceremonies, narratives, and stories. The artist mentions the appeal of the tactile quality of cloth and its richness even in its everyday applications. It is no wonder that she began to explore the techniques she had begun to learn!