I'm doing a little bartering with landlady/pal/artist, M. Here is a statement about her I wrote in prep for her big opening on Friday:
About the Artist
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things...
- Gerard Manley Hopkins
M has been operating LM Gallery since 1994. A working artist for many years, M has always been drawn to and inspired by the natural world. Growing up in the woods of Connecticut and the the rainforest of Puerto Rico, wind, water, trees, grass, leaves and earth are themes that span her career. Beginning as a painter of "architectural landscapes" she has lately been using architectural materials to produce what she calls "inner landscapes."
In spite of the more abstract nature of her recent work however, the imprint of nature is overt in both design and material. M takes "the chaotic materials we just discard"--natural materials found in an urban setting--reclaims and repurposes them to remind us of the need to preserve our natural resources. She alters the materials very little from their found state, letting her instincts flow with the colors and textures the pieces offer her.
The result is a paradoxical pastiche of light and weight; strength and fragility that speaks quietly but directly to both the eternal nature of the earth and its request that we live lightly upon it if we hope to continue as one of its species.
If you are interested and in the Chicago area, email me and I'll give you details for the opening. Bonus: you get to meet Cole, me, and possibly Nat and Selina!
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