The Irma Freeman Center for the Imagination will welcome P O R T A L S on August 2, 2019 with an opening reception starting at 7 pm. There will be a closing reception on September 6, 2019. Gallery hours will be on Sundays from 2-5 pm, or by appointment. This exhibition will be up through September 16, 2019.
P O R T A L S will debut work from both Eriko Hattori and Vanessa Adams. Through the language of plants and symbols, and explorations of natural cycles and patterns, Eriko and Vanessa seek to create portals--entryways into other-worldly dimensions--while still being present in this one. Exploring these openings and gateways helps us to question our own realities and perceptions. At what point do certain realities become tangible / intangible? Where does one find validity in a world with such strict margins?
Eriko Hattori is a painter working in Pittsburgh, PA. With their most recent body of work, Eriko introduces two primary figures--the masked cat of prey and the Jorogumo (“woman-spider”)--to tell narratives that revolve around fetish, sexuality, and perceptions of femininity. Existing in a cosmos inhabited by chimeras, demons, and other masked figures, these icons represent the artist’s ongoing exploration of their queer identity in relation to their ancestral heritage. https://erikohattori.com
Vanessa Adams is a printmaker from New Orleans, LA currently working in Pittsburgh, PA. In Vanessa’s most recent body of work, the life cycles of night-blooming plants and the phases of the moon are the visual signposts for stages of growth and transformation. Opening in darkness, night-blooming plants have long been associated with magical states of being, occult practices, and subconscious feelings. The cycling of the moon, with its power to move water, shift feelings, and induce madness, has been used to set intention, sow seeds, and work magic. By combining them, they are exploring how to inhabit places of darkness, and how to harness intuition in the face of the unknown. https://vanessascholaradams.com