Aesthetics of Loss

Curated by Linda B. Marcus, Jessica Meuninck-Ganger & Nirmal Raja

Artists: Anne Basting, Cassidy Early, EBTI, Jaymee Harvey Willms, Brianna L. Hernández, Linda B. Marcus, Jessica Meuninck-Ganger, Nirmal Raja, Anders Zanichkowski

The Catherine G. Murphy Gallery is pleased to present Aesthetics of Loss, an exhibition of work by nine artists who turn to their art to express their experiences of losing loved ones. The curators explain: “[Artists’] studios became places for processing grief and understanding the vacuum of losing loved ones either suddenly or over a long period of illness. Caregiving, memory, loss, and the ultimate mystery of death are explored through painting, printmaking, fibers, ceramics, photography, installation, and video.”

“Representing grief in artwork is an attempt at understanding death and there is no one way to do it. Some artists utilize objects and clothing left behind by their loved ones and transform them into artworks, and others use ritual and natural materials as memorial or commemorative actions of grief and acceptance. In the work of artists in this exhibition, art is an unconscious survival barrier, a scrim that references something unimaginable in oblique, evocative, and moving ways.” 

Programming:

Loss, Ritual and Meaning – A Panel Discussion: Monday, November 6, 5-6:30pm

Visual Arts Building, rm. 102 and Zoom. Free and open to the public. RSVP here. // About the panel: Drawing on their experiences as theologians, artists, and healthcare practitioners, the panelists explore how the experience of loss is shaped by their professional and disciplinary roles. 

Image: Nirmal Raja, Peace Offering, 2021, Sumi ink, gouache, silver and yellow ink on Hanji, 60" x 114"