New Exhibit: Remainders/Reflections

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

“When cutting pieces for furniture, I found myself intrigued by what was left behind, in the wood I had cut away.” – Ray Mullineaux

The new exhibit, opening on August 20 in the Guest Gallery of the Bennington Arts Guild,
explores the concept of remainders, of remnants, and of pieces left behind and their implicit duality.  Fragments, be they wood, textiles, or words from a larger text, look backwards towards their origin or original use; in the hands of artists, fragments also look forwards, towards repurposed and continued meaning. This exhibit of sculpture by Ray Mullineaux and collages by Kathryn Kosto invites us to reflect on both presence and absence, to see what was included, and what was excluded, cast aside, or left behind.

“I occasionally make small sculptural works as a meditation upon putting bits and pieces, many from cherished scrap, together and reshaping and engineering them to new purpose.
Their pasts may survive in some aspect but serving a new whole. Spontaneity is my muse and method,” says Ray Mullineaux.  Ray has worked as a cabinet and furniture maker in the Bennington area since coming to North Bennington to study furniture making and design with Ian Kirby in 1979.

Kathryn Kosto uses fragments from poetry by poets such as Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Phillis Wheatley in her collages.  As in the poems themselves, themes of pairing occur in her work: fire/ice, eternity/memory, and imagination/recollection.
The collages incorporate vintage textiles, text fragments from poems, and goldwork, a form of embroidery using gold thread which flourished during the Middle Ages.  Kathryn has worked as a museum curator and archivist, and her art reflects her familiarity with
historic needlework, textiles, and archival collections; more information and images are on her website.

Tune into WBTN for an interview with Ray and Kathryn, from 8:30 -9 am on Tuesday, August 16.  The public is invited to celebrate the opening of “Remainders/Reflections” at the BAG Gallery on Saturday, August 20, from 5-8 pm.  Light refreshments will be served. This exhibit will be on display through September 12.

Advertisement