The Gadsden Museum of Art will have the following shows on display starting May 4th: “Plastisphere” by Kristen Regan in the courtyard galleries, “Tales From The Brambly Thicket” by Tracie Noles-Ross located in the Leo Reynolds gallery, “A Life of Art” by Miriam McDonald as well as the Etowah County and City Student Show located on the second floor gallery, and “A Presentation By The One-Eye Opera Company” by Mary Ann Sampson will remain in the main gallery on the first floor.
A reception for these exhibits will take place on May 7 during First Friday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Kristen Regan is an Associate Professor at Pensacola State College. Her exhibition is a direct “reference to the ecosystem of microbial organisms that form on floating plastic,” with strong references to environmental issues surrounding dangers to wildlife, manmade minerals, and pollution. Regan’s work is collection of prints on aluminum, wet plate collodions, and archival digital pigment prints. Regan recounts the inspiration for her exhibition as, “images of these unusual microscopic creatures with their exquisite glass-like anatomy fascinated my curiosity and led me to manipulate discarded plastic to try and emulate their delicate translucent structures.”
Tracie Noles-Ross is a local artist from Birmingham, Alabama. She has a B.A. from the University of Alabama with a concentration in Visual Arts and Creative Writing. Tracie’s collection of work encouraging shifts in perspective using discarded or forgotten objects. Tracie calls herself a “multi-disciplinary storyteller” and claims that “The driving force behind my creative process is the idea that the past cannot be buried.” Tracie’s collection utilizes a wide variety of media from paintings, digital transfers, and sculpture. The exhibition itself exudes and air of whimsy and delicateness.
Miriam McDonald is a local art teacher and will be exhibited alongside the Etowah County and City Student Show. She began teaching out of her home, was then hired to teach art at Episcopal Day School and continued to work there for 15 years before she began her current career at Westbrook Christian School, where she has been at for the past 13 years, as well as teaching classes on the side at the Gadsden Museum of Art. Miriam’s collection of work exhibit a strong knowledge for traditional style media and a wide variety of subject matter.
The collection of Mary Ann Sampson’s work has been extended until May 28 due to the overall success of her exhibition. Along with a multitude of mixed media works are a number of handmade books that she describes as: “Flat works and three-dimensional pieces are mostly singular ideas that have fallen off the pages. It’s the plurality of techniques and materials that make them seem different.”
These shows will be on display until May 28, and the museum is opened to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday with new hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The reception for these exhibits will be hosted during First Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. on May 7.
Masks are strongly encouraged.
