Beyond Landscapes: Lauren Adams & Ilina Arsova
September 1-30, 2023
Beyond Landscapes: Lauren Adams & Ilina Arsova
Opening reception: Friday, September 1, 5:00-9:00 PM
Gallery hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Saturday, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Beyond Landscapes asks the viewer to broaden their definition of what a landscape is typically. It is an exploration of a plein air perspective, a memory of a place, or even a mark left in a moment in time.
Lauren Adams studied painting and art education at the University of South Carolina. With a focus on Flemish and Dutch Art, she relishes archival techniques and processes. Through the years, her subjects have varied from landscapes, cityscapes, abstract atmospheres, to microcosms. Adams is also a high school art educator.
This series embodies the exploration of the marks our bodies leave after we wake from rest. Nocturnal landscapes, created by a loved one’s body imprinted into their bed, are remnants of his/her journey into the inner worlds. Some may leave a frenzied mountainscape from an active slumber, while others may leave rolling hills from a peaceful nocturnal recharge. I have asked people I love to send me a snapshot of their own nocturnal landscapes. From these, I have created an homage to the amazing worlds we are part of; the traces of which are left for us in the physical realm.
www.laurenadamsartstudio.com
Instagram @laurenadamsartstudio
Ilina Arsova was born in Skopje, Macedonia, where she studied painting and art education at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University. Currently she is a PhD student in Socio-Cultural studies of Sport at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. As a member of the Association of Painters of Macedonia since 2005, she has exhibited in solo and group shows around the world, including in Washington, DC; New York City, NY; Berlin, Germany; Quito, Ecuador; Shanghai, China; São Tomé and Príncipe; Macedonia; and Malaysia.
As an environmental activist passionate about adventure and mountaineering, the connection with nature becomes a significant part of my art works. In 2020 I became the first woman from Macedonia and among 70 in the world to complete the seven summits mountaineering challenge, including the exceptional journey to the top of the world, Mount Everest. Inevitably the art works are inspired by my journeys, portraying the lived experience in a form of visual diary, complimented by a conceptual performance named ZERO where the artist becomes part of the artwork. The fetus position of a female nude immersed with the landscape is a symbol of a new beginning, a hope for a new humanity with higher respect towards mother nature, emphasizing the elements which give life.
Instagram @ilina_arsova
Instagram @ilina_arsova_art