The Crisp-Ellert Art Museum (CEAM) and Flagler College present “The Very Ground That Shaped Us,” a juried exhibition featuring the works produced by Flagler College’s Department of Visual Arts alumni. The public is invited to attend a free opening reception on Friday, May 15, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The exhibition will be open for viewing from May 15 through June 25.
The artwork in this exhibition reflects the diverse artistic practices embodied by the school’s alumni over the past 25 years. The artists include Ruth Coffman, Rachel de Cuba, Bradley Edmonds, Amelia Eldridge, Kobe Elixson, Taylor Fausset, Annie Gardner, Grace Garlesky, Jessica Lubbers, Noah MacKenzie, Laura Mackie, Jenna McDonald, Morgan Mudryk, Sara Pedigo, and Beiyi Wang. Their work spans a broad array of methods and materials, including ceramic sculpture, textiles and fiber arts, printmaking, painting, collage, photography, video, and mixed-media installation.
This year’s juror, Miami-based independent curator Laura Novoa, found connective threads within these works that examine how “domestic spaces, language, inheritance, and landscape operate as psychological structures where repetition, concealment, and the desire for escape coexist.” As the exhibition moves between interior and exterior terrains, these works reveal an uncanny within the familiar and challenge our notions of the home as a stable place. Novoa is a Miami-based independent curator and arts administrator. She served as Assistant Director at the Bakehouse Art Complex, holds an advisory position with the City of Miami’s Art in Public Places, and has previous experience at Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.
“I am always impressed and inspired by the caliber of work that our Department of Visual Art alumni continue to create after they’ve left Flagler College,” says CEAM Director Julie Dickover. “All of the work that was submitted was thoughtful and relevant, and we are grateful to Laura for her careful attention to finding the connective threads in order to put together this very cohesive exhibition.
The Crisp-Ellert Art Museum is an accessible building. If you are a person with a disability and need reasonable accommodation, please contact Phil Pownall at 904-819-6460. Sign Language Interpreters are available upon request with a minimum of three days’ notice.
ABOUT CRISP-ELLERT ART MUSEUM: CEAM programming is supported by Flagler College and through grants from the Dr. JoAnn Crisp-Ellert Fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council, the St. Johns Cultural Council, Volkswagen of St. Augustine, and VyStar Credit Union. Additional support is provided by the AC Hotel St. Augustine. For further information on programming, please visit the website at www.flagler.edu/ceam or contact CEAM Director Julie Dickover at 904-826-8530 or crispellert@flagler.edu. Summer hours in June are Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; CEAM will be closed in July and August during school break. Photos to accompany the press release are available here.
