"Untrustworthy Night" Artist Reception at The Walnut Gallery

Join us April 26th, for a meet the artist reception of "Untrustworthy Night", by Sarah Marshall. Refreshments will be served. Admission is free and open to all.

From the Artist's Statement:
Through my work, I explore the gulf between two experiences of the world; one presented daily to the senses, the other an unseen collection of belief, imagination, and memory. I position these experiences together not to resolve them, but to consider the relationship between them. I seek to make visible the invisible; the spaces between objects and events, and our awkwardness in describing them, are the subtext of my work.

The images included in this exhibition represent a new, ongoing body of work that addresses sleep; the scientific study of its physical processes, its importance to our health, and the role it plays in our history and culture. Tones of blue, images of the eye, and collage assembly suggest the nighttime activities of the human imagination.

Process:
These images are transferred to fabric using photographic and print techniques such as cyanotype, silkscreen, and relief printing. Dyed using traditional tied and sewn resist techniques, the fabric elements are then collaged together through sewing and appliqué.

Reconstructing a larger work from smaller pieces leads to odd juxtapositions and imperfect joins. Information lost in the seam allowances hints at loosely connected recollections floating through a drowsy mind. This awkwardness reflects a human tendency to interpret events based on extrapolation and personal experience. The soft, unfinished borders suggest an imperfect vision of the world, as seen through the subjective lens of individual perception.

Bio:
The daughter of a reference librarian and a composer, Sarah Marshall grew up near Baltimore, Maryland. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 1992 and, in 1999, her Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa. Influenced by interests such as language, reading and book objects, architecture, and biological science, Sarah focuses on the processes of printmaking and drawing. Her works on paper show organic forms that become portraits and characters; repeated in various environments, these characters examine our ideas about decision-making and the ways we treat each other. Sarah is currently employed as an Associate Professor of Art at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.