Artist Melinda Steffy is exhibiting "Remnants and Residual Memories," through Feb. 11 in the Finlandia University Gallery of the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock. (Photo courtesy Finlandia University)An exhibit of artwork by Steffy, titled "Remnants and Residual Memories," is featured at the gallery through Feb. 11, 2010.
Steffy’s current work is, in part, a look into the nature of her grandfather’s memory loss due to Alzheimer’s disease. Items like antique lace, tarnished copper and found barrettes make their way into these compositions, which consider questions of memory, the loss of memory and the construction of systems that sustain memory.
"Memory defines who we are," reflects Steffy. "As my grandfather gradually lost his memory, he also lost his gentle personality, his confident identity, his profound sense of purpose. The small, vivid details that formed his life diminished to minuscule pinpoints surrounded by a vast blankness of forgetting."
Carrie Flaspohler, director of the Finlandia University Gallery, notes that the poetry of Steffy’s work lies in her ability to translate philosophical concepts into visually complex and abstract compositions. The materials she chooses to use in her art-making are an integral part of the finished piece.
The Finlandia University Gallery is in the Finnish American Heritage Center, 437 Quincy St., Hancock.
The reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Please call 487-7500 for more information.
No comments:
Post a Comment