MICHIGAN CITY – From October 23 through January 6 2018, Lubeznik Center for the Arts (LCA) will feature two new exhibitions: Fragile Codes and In the Abstract. The exhibits juxtapose artworks using one of the oldest techniques, “encaustic” or hot wax paintings, with the newest technologies in digital art.
Fragile Codes is a new media and video exhibit. Artists Jason Bernagozzi and Eric Souther will present video installations, sculptures and prints that borrow and repurpose images from popular media to create a transformative experience.
Bernagozzi and Souther explore how the advancement of media has transformed the way we interpret the world around us. Through their separate work they investigate the rapidly changing relationship between media, technology, society and the arts.
In 2016, Eric Souther won the Juried Award for Time-Based art at the international art competition ArtPrize. He received his M.F.A. in Electronic Integrated Arts from Alfred University and is currently an Associate Professor of New Media at Indiana University South Bend.
Jason Bernagozzi is a video, sound and new media artist living and working in Fort Collins, Colorado and is the co-founder of the experimental media arts non-profit Signal Culture. His work has received several awards including grants from the New York State Council for the Arts, free103point9 and the ARTS Council for the Southern Finger Lakes.
In the Abstract presents artwork by four Chicago area artists using hot wax and pigment in their own distinctive artistic language. “Encaustic”, meaning to heat or burn-in, is one of the oldest painting techniques, dating back to ancient Greece and Egypt. This technique has experienced a revival with today's artists giving it a modern twist.
Shelley Gilchrist's work creates movement, pattern and works with non-traditional shapes and vibrant color. Jeffrey Hirst's artworks incorporate architectural influences with printmaking and sculpture. Monotypes by Michele Thrane are inspired by abstract expressionist mark making. Paintings by Karen Tichy have a rich translucent quality using paper lines and shapes under layers of wax. The variety of abstract forms in this exhibit share a luminosity achieved by layering the wax.
Join us November 3, from 5:00 to 8:00PM, for the Opening Reception for Fragile Codes and In the Abstract to meet the artists, enjoy great conversation, light bites and a cash bar. Admission is free.
Want to lean more? On November 11, from 10:00 to 11:00AM, LCA will offer a curator-led Gallery Talk that will provide an in-depth look at the the exhibitions. Admission is free.
Lubeznik Center for the Arts welcomes school field trips for any grade level, and we can accommodate groups up to seventy-five students at one time. We recommend at least one and a half hours for the entire trip as students are led through our galleries with trained educational docents and also complete a hands-on art project while on site to deepen understanding of the concepts discussed in the exhibits. To schedule a learning tour, contact Hannah Hammond-Hagman, Education Director, at 219.874.4900 or hhammond@lubeznikcenter.org.
