Opening Reception:
Tuesday, April 23, 5-7 p.m.
Artist Talk:
5:45 p.m.
Simmons University presents Up and Out, a sculptural installation by Liz Shepherd from April 22-May 31 at the Trustman Art Gallery, located on the fourth floor, Main College Building, 300 the Fenway in Boston. A reception from 5-7 p.m. and artist talk at 5:45 will be held on Tuesday, April 23. Closed: May 10, 27. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.
Ladders arching over open space-translucent and ethereal, will take over the Trustman Gallery for Liz Shepherd’s show. As vehicles for escape, the ladders imply dream journeys or transcendence to the unknown. Her materials are eclectic-wood morphs into three-dimensional vellum forms; screen prints of ladders climb tall bedsheets, and tiny, colorful cast resin ladders induce an unreal Alice in Wonderland state of mind. Shepherd’s shifting scale and her mastery of technique allows the viewer to enter this unsubstantial world and imagine that anything might be possible.
The seeming weightlessness of many of Shepherd’s materials reinforces her theme of transitioning away from attachments, allowing for release from negative emotions or the suffering involved with relationships. Up and Out, comprised of screen printed ladders on fabric, straddles the line between three and four dimensions. The element of time is suggested through hastily constructed ladder extensions which are printed over a deep black rectangular space. The ladders extend up and out of this metaphorical black hole ascending tipsily upward, over tall patterned bedsheets, which drape languidly from the Gallery ceiling to the floor, puddled and disarranged as though after a tough night in the arms of Morpheus.
Up and Out of Here, the site specific installation that takes advantage of the Gallery’s height and central skylight is described by Shepherd as, ÒI imagined a person who wants to leave a space where she is not exactly locked in but feels contained. She imagines (dreams?) stacking her furniture and climbing up in an effort to leave via the skylight. Not having nearly enough furniture to reach the ceiling, she imagines ladders that can extend her reach. The materials transition from the sturdy solidity of wood to translucent paper ladders.
Liz Shepherd’s work opens up worlds to discover and allows for the possibility of escape or change. She connects us to history, art history and the realms of possibility that religious faith or stories offer us to confront the uncomfortable, terrifying or beautiful reality that we live in.
Trustman Art Gallery hours are 10 AM – 4:30 PM, Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and 10 AM – 7 PM on Wednesday and Thursday. The Gallery is free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible.
The Trustman Art Gallery is located within Simmons University at 300 Fenway, 4th floor, Boston MA 02115. For more information, contact Helen Popinchalk at [email protected].
Find us on Instagram @trustman_gallery.