Exhibition offers vivid perspectives on what it means to be an artist

Holly Souther
Fri, 31 Jan 2020 02:38:20 +0000
Arts & Life, Fine Arts, News, abstract, art, arts, arts district, collage, exhibition, Fiber, galleries, gallery, Hammond Harkins, i am an artist, jacquard, mixed media, narrative, painting, short north, story

Janice Lessman-Moss stands next to her piece at the Hammond Harkins Galleries’ “I Am an Artist” exhibition Jan. 24. Credit: Holly Souther | Lantern Reporter

A new Short North exhibition tasked each artist with creating something to represent their identity as a creator, but a common theme arose in leaving room for the viewer to find themselves.

Hammond Harkins Galleries unveiled “I Am an Artist” Jan. 24, an exhibition asking how artists define themselves through their work.

“It helps us understand where these individuals are coming from as people who make something that is considered art,” Chet Domitz, an art consultant for Hammond Harkins Galleries, said.

The exhibition showcases 13 local and international artists — all previously featured in the gallery — with pieces in a broad range of textures and materials.

Andrea Myers, one of the featured artists, works with colorful fabrics and paper to create layered collages.

“I leave a lot of space for the viewers,” Myers said. “That’s why I use a lot of abstraction so that people can insert their own experiences into the work.”

Janice Lessman-Moss, another artist on display, designs intricate spreads of patterned cloth to tell stories of human connection and the way the pieces fit together in life.

As an undergraduate of Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia, Lessman-Moss said she fell in love with art that is constructed rather than painted or drawn.

She works with a digital jacquard loom, a device that weaves patterns designed on a computer from materials such as silk and linen.

“I like the metaphors of the process, so that sense of time, growth — that kind of thing that is inherent in the process itself is it’s repetitive, it’s cumulative,” Lessman-Moss said.

Lessman-Moss said the shapes and patterns in the design represent the symbolism that connects all humans, regardless of culture.

Karen Snouffer, another featured artist in the gallery, unfolds a world of chaos and carefully selected pieces in her mixed-media works. Ever since she was a child, she has had a fondness for mixed-media art.

Snouffer works with paper, acrylics, Sumi ink and stickers in complex layers of color, line and shape to tell her narrative. Each work is different, blooming with complexity that viewers can read as their own.

Snouffer said it feels more exhilarating to work without recognizable form. She said she believes in the contradiction and chaos of abstract art to tell it own story.

“I mean, there’s all kinds of figurative art pieces that are beautiful, but for my process, that’s what works for the excitement in my studio,” she said.

“I Am an Artist” will be on display from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday until March 15 at the Hammond Harkins Galleries at 641 N. High St.