The Waldron Arts Center announces new January exhibitions: Past, Present, and Future

To celebrate the new year at the Waldron Art Galleries, three artists present shows revolving around nostalgia, memory, and place. In the Education Gallery, Mark Riggins’ show No Place Like Home, continues for another month. His work consistently reflects a profound appreciation for the environment he gets to call home, and the people that make the environment creatively accessible for him. Riggins’ artistic journey was deeply shaped by his grandmother, Mary Maish, a local artist. Observing her techniques and her dedication ignited his own passion for drawing. His admiration for his grandmother’s work helped him develop his skills and instilled his love for art from a young age. That love is evident in the intricately detailed pen and ink renderings of architectural subjects in Monroe County and Southern Indiana.

Gabrielle Schenck presents Heat-Seeking, in the Spotlight Gallery, where she reflects upon her exploration of the natural world and its intricate forms. Her work is formed by a deliberate process of layering and erasing gestural marks to create a surface tension that mirrors the continuous cycle of death and renewal. She portrays the haze of the organic structures that surround her, capturing the ephemeral feeling one senses when connecting with nature. From the colorways to the dimension of Schenck’s pieces, each element evokes a sense of vagueness, yet familiarity.

The Space Between, by artist Haley Clancy Inyart, premiers in the Rosemary P. Miller Gallery. In this exhibition, Clancy Inyart adapts intricate wall collage, crafted from meticulously cut watercolor papers, creating an opportunity for viewers to actively partake in her art, both in the close-up examination of each individual piece as well as the emotive experience of walking through the space. Her work explores memory through personal objects, inviting the audience to connect with their own experiences. By painting these objects from memory and subtly altering their appearance between front and back, Clancy Inyart gradually deteriorates and evolves into abstraction through the cutouts. The watercolor paintings and collage work bring physical presence to the way memories fade over time.

These shows will open with an event on Friday, January 10, from 5-8pm. ​