A retrospective exhibition of works by artist Judith Olson Gregory is on display in the SUNY Fredonia Art Gallery at Rockefeller Arts Center through April 3.
The exhibition, entitled “Presence,” features works from the 1990s through today, including Gregory’s recent “Vestment Series.” Art Gallery Director Tina Hastings said the exhibition represents many facets of Gregory’s artistic ability.
“It’s interesting to see the transformation of style in Gregory’s work,” Hastings said. “I found these pieces intriguing on many social and cultural levels. Her work can explore complex topics, but appear to be whimsical at the same time.”
Gregory has earned numerous awards in her 20-plus years as an artist, with her works featured in exhibitions throughout New York including the Burchfield Art Center in Buffalo, the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester and Adams Art Gallery in Dunkirk. She has studios in both New York and North Carolina.
Devoted to the arts, she has served on the boards of many arts organizations and has designed workshops for adults and children. More information on the artist is available at juditholsongregory.com.
“The Vestment Series,” which explores unconventional designs for garments, is described by Gregory as “a number of figurative works in which the figure, though remarkably absent, is suggested by the charged emptiness of the garments themselves.”
The “Vestment Series” includes images of kimonos fashioned from varied materials including teabags.
“Viewers who take the time to read and process the titles of the work – in addition to relating to the pieces visually – will be rewarded with a deeper meaning of where the concepts for them are coming from.” Gregory said.
Also included in the “Presence” exhibition is a work entitled “MEMORY,” which Gregory describes as “a 12-foot word-on-the-wall piece where the elastic ‘memory’ of rubber bands becomes a metaphor for our own faulty and fleeting senses.”
Students from the Department of Visual Arts and New Media worked with Gregory to create a site-specific installation for “MEMORY.”
The SUNY Fredonia Art Gallery, located on the main level of Rockefeller Arts Center near Symphony Circle, is open Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from 2 to 6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 2 to 8 p.m. The gallery is closed on Mondays and will be closed from March 14 to 21 for spring break.
