Please join us on Friday\, October
23.
Reception: 5:00-6:00 p.m. light refreshments will be se
rved
Artists talk: 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
The reception will
be held on the ArtWalk from 5:00-7:00 p.m.\, with light refreshments. Then
we will move down to the main floor for the artist talk in Garmany Hall f
rom 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Featuring: Allen Phillips\, Chris Allen Cox\, C hristopher M. Schroeder\, Joe Bun Keo\, Jon Eastman
\n Group statement:
"when you
walk into a gallery\, an exhibition space\, or the halls of a museum\, you
are witness to a spectrum of art. sculptures\, photographs\, prints\, dra
wings\, paintings\, immersive audio visual installations\; all of this is
physically manifested by the hard work of museum laborers\, whom are often
overlooked\, underpaid\, and exploited. the hanging hardware\, lighting\,
spacing\, the intricate arrangements of casework\, vinyl lettering\, sign
age\, combine to create an experience for visitors. art is work (a lot of
work)\, and work is art\, now value it like so\, and pay more than respect
and attention. it&rsquo\;s the labor of love\, not the love of labor. com
e see the individual artistic practices of those who were creating experie
nces before punching the clock at your arts spaces."
Artists statements:
\nChris Allen Cox: "My father is a fisherman.
When I was a child\, he would practice casting fishing lures on top of a h
ill near our house. His casts would launch a lure 40-50 feet down the gras
sy hillside\, and I would run down to grab the lure and pretend to be a fi
sh that he then had to reel in. \;
My practice is an attempt to r
ecreate the same act. I work towards being enticed by a concept and follow
through with chasing the concept until I make a visual representation tha
t connects me to it."
Christopher M. Schroeder
: "The Architecture of Identity
My work explores the inters
ection of microscopic code and macroscopic form\, investigating how the bl
ueprint of life manifests within the physical structures of the human body
. Working at the intersection of mixed media and sculptural painting\, I u
se acrylic gloss gel medium to build luminous\, translucent layers that mi
mic the complexity of biological tissues.
By encasing abstracted/pho
to transferred representations of chromosomes\, cellular pathways\, and an
atomical fragments within high-gloss strata\, I aim to freeze the fluid bo
undary between internal genetics and external form. The gel medium acts as
both a metaphor and a structural tool\; its glass-like clarity traps ligh
t and color\, creating a three-dimensional depth that invites the viewer t
o look beneath the surface. Ultimately\, my pieces serve a visual meditati
on on vulnerability\, inheritance\, and the intricate architecture that ma
ke us human."
Jon Eastman: " The works I am exhib
iting here are wood constructions he refers to as the Ply/Would: Noir seri
es. \;
Begun in 2017\, these monochromatic wall relief sculptures
are studies employing elements of Modernism\, mid-century design and arch
itecture (esp. Brutalism\, Constructivism and Art Deco. \;
The st
ark pallet of white on black allows the forms to emerge or float with high
contrast and emphasis on shape\, outline and movement." \;
Joe Bun Keo: "Bun Keo's work investigates post-Khmer Rouge
intergenerational trauma\, post-emo diasporic identity\, post-memory\, and
post-scarcity materiality (neomaterialism) through sculpture\, installati
on\, found objects\, and post-studio strategies. Working within an expande
d sculptural field\, he examines how objects function as emotional and his
torical vessels shaped by systems of labor\, consumption\, displacement\,
and survival.
He explores the relationship between object-oriented on
tology (OOO) and recollection: how everyday objects accumulate sentimental
\, cultural\, psychological\, and political residue over time. Through act
s of uprooting\, recontextualization\, modification\, and arrangement\, he
attempts to access the emotional infrastructure embedded within commoditi
es. Existent objects\, re-formed structures\, and fragments become placeho
lders for experiences that are difficult to articulate through language al
one.
His practice is informed by his experiences as a first-generatio
n Khmer American artist and the child of Cambodian refugees and Khmer Roug
e genocide survivors raised in the privileged\, predominantly white enviro
nment of a blue collar New England suburb. Questions surrounding heritage\
, ethnic fragmentation\, assimilation\, grief\, labor\, and belonging shap
e his relationship to objects and space. He treats materials as witnesses
that carry traces of autoethnographic data\, acting as time capsules.
Rather than producing entirely new objects\, he frequently works with mat
erials already circulating within contemporary society. This approach refl
ects an interest in excess\, consumption\, and the afterlives of objects w
ithin late-stage capitalism. He positions re-use not only as an aesthetic
strategy\, but as a conceptual and ethical response to the emotional and e
nvironmental weight of hoarding.
Installation plays a central role in
his work\, transforming exhibition spaces into psychological environments
where objects communicate with one another and the viewer. Through proxim
ity\, fracturing\, repetition\, and subtle intervention\, ordinary items s
hift from passivity into carriers of intimacy\, tension\, vulnerability\,
and irresolution.
Balancing between visibility and concealment\, humo
r and melancholy\, familiarity and estrangement\, Bun Keo explores how per
sonal narratives intersect with broader socioeconomic historical systems.
Ultimately\, he views objects as extensions of the human experience&mdash\
;enduring repositories of memory that continue to speak long after their o
riginal contexts have faded."