Starting on March 9, the Lockhart Gallery hosted the exhibit "Mind and Matter: Aspects of a Scholar's Garden," with a reception hosted by guest curator Lena Hyun, an adjunct professor at Rockland Community College.
"Mind and Matter" is part of the gallery's celebration of Asian History Month. The show highlights simplicity and draws influences from Zen Buddhism and meditation.
"Mind and Matter" features sculptures and photographs from contemporary artists Stephen Churchill and Sho Araiba.
According to an essay written by Hyun on the Gallery, "Mind and Matter: Aspect of a Scholar's Garden" took a year to plan out with Cynthia Hawkins, Geneseo's director of galleries. Hawkins invited Hyun to be guest curator.
Churchill's display includes three handmade paper sculptures, all of which feature variants of natural colors. His piece "80 Years of Handmade Paper" is a gigantic, almost rectangular sculpture highlighted with mustard yellow sheets of paper.
The artist emphasizes the handmade paper through textured painting and a distinct wrinkling of the paper's surface. The effect of this technique is that each side differs, making the piece more visually engaging.
Churchill's sculptures invite the audience to come closer and interact with his art rather than just observe. His "Yellow #1 with Child" is a three-dimensional piece with paper popping off of the canvas and warped sides that encourage the viewer to look at it from multiple angles.
Araiba's interactive piece, "The Family Garden Installation," allows viewers to place felt footprints inside of and surrounding a circle in order to reflect on thoughts of their family and themselves. She said that the goal of this piece, as well as her other works, is to actively encourage meditation.
Araiba also has on display a collection of black and white photographs, all of which were taken in the same room at an unusually low angle. A bright window, which is out of focus in all of the shots, emphasizes this unusual camera perspective and contrasts color among the collection.
Ethereal light in Araiba's "Untitled #3" shines through a bedraggled white balloon that has fallen to the ground in a deflated pile, creating a captivating effect. Excellent manipulation of shadow occurs in "Untitled #2" which features rocks assembled in a Stonehenge-like fashion.
In addition to the physical pieces featured in "Mind and Matter," a slideshow called "The Effect of ..." is also offered in the gallery. The slideshow features experiments with pictures of natural and everyday objects displayed for different amounts of time.
The Lockhart Gallery is located in the McClellan House at 26 Main Street. It will be hosting "Mind and Matter: Aspects of a Scholar's Garden" until April 11.