Simmons University presents “Complexity: Natural and Unnatural Photography and Design” by Rosamond and Dennis Purcell, March 16 to April 23, at the Simmons University Trustman Art Gallery, fourth floor, Main Campus Building, 300 The Fenway. There will be a reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Thurs., March 18. The event is free and open to the public.
“Complexity: Natural and Unnatural” is the fifth show in a series of exhibits by couples that are in the 2003/2004 Trustman Art Gallery schedule. Rosamond Purcell is an internationally acclaimed artist. Her photographs record the processes of time, decay, and the effects of weathering and sunlight. Familiar, mass-produced artifacts are transformed into uniquely mysterious, richly textured subjects.
Dennis Purcell is an engineer, statistician, photographer and artist. He creates pseudo-complex images — graphic “drawings” that look hand-made, but are in fact simple mathematical objects, including two-dimensional cellular-automata transformations of color scenes and “residue” images, which result from subtracting a “cleaned-up” postcard picture from its original.
Rosamond Purcell will be showing photographs of books and dice, objects which were originally made to serve one purpose, but through her work, now serve another. Dennis Purcell uses simple mathematical methods applied with common computer programs to create beautiful patterns. Both artists derive complexity through simplicity.
Trustman Art Gallery hours are 10 AM – 4:30 PM, Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, 10 AM – 7 PM on Wednesday and Thursday. The gallery is free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible. For more information, contact Kyle Mendelsohn at (617) 521-2268 or find us on Instagram.