The Pump Gallery of Flood Fine Arts Center Presents:
Specimens: New Works by Nicole McConville
Pump Gallery, Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts Street, Asheville, NC 28801
June 5, 2009 – June 30, 2009
Opening Reception with the Artist - Friday, June 12, 2009 7-10 pm
Asheville, NC – A freeze-dried sparrow, wings spread, forever captured in flight … a rusty metal gear separated from its original purpose but singled out for its geometric beauty … an old photograph with a long-forgotten face that still instills a sense of familiarity ... beetles sliced and dissected from the pages of a century-old entomology guide. What is it about a particular object that draws us in and inspires within us a desire to possess and to preserve? In the tradition of 17th Century Wunderkammer, Nicole McConville’s found object assemblages and encaustic collage works are an invitation for inspection, contemplation, admiration and delight.
Wunderkammer (“wonder cabinets”) showcased exotic objects of all kinds delicately arranged within display environments. These often disparate collections were treasured, shown off in a way that stated to their owners and admirers that they had significance, even if it was only their ability to evoke a sense of rarity or collected knowledge. Frozen in place and time, McConville’s work features a host of reclaimed objects--from natural specimens and rusty discards to eye-catching discoveries pulled from dusty bookshelves--that are re-contextualized as carefully selected specimens within an entirely new narrative.
Concerned with explorations of concepts of time, memory and place, McConville’s work utilizes dimensionality and layers in a way that calls for closer inspection. Peering into a recessed cavity, marveling at one object appearing to float above another, watching the visual play as images are simultaneously concealed and revealed by their setting, one can feel temporarily transported. These works attempt to reveal the sacred within the seemingly ordinary.
The show at Pump Gallery, featuring approximately 25 encaustic collages and a dozen assemblage works, is McConville’s first solo exhibit.
Nicole McConville, a long time resident of Asheville, has exhibited her work in numerous galleries across the United States, as well as in Germany and England. She was featured with a select group of other Asheville artists in the 2008 Gen Art Vangaurd: New Contemporary Art Fair during Art Basel Miami this past December. She has been featured in numerous publications, including The Altered Object and the cover feature for the July/August 2008 issue of VERVE magazine.
Pump Gallery, a sister gallery to the Flood Gallery, is located in the Phil Mechanic Studios building at 109 Roberts Street, in Asheville's River Arts District, 28801. For more information, call 828-254-2166.
For Details, Contact:
Jolene Mechanic
Phil Mechanic Studios
Phone: 828-254-2166
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