a simple show

OPENING RECEPTION

FRI May 3 | 6pm – 8pm
The reception is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

EXHIBIT DATES

May 3 – July 20

Artwork and poetry that draw on contentment, comfort, nostalgia, self-preservation, and the need to connect to one another and the world around us… in seemingly simple ways. A simple show seeks to provide a restorative breath in a world that is deeply chaotic. It’s about moving from the complex to the modest and finding tenderness in the shadows. Not in an attempt to negate the reality around us, but to energize us to face our collective challenges.

The artistic expressions in a simple show provide glimpses into the power of simple pleasures, the importance of the pause, and the potential found in the mundane acts, objects, and places of daily life… human touch, sunlight, a favorite food, bubbles, hands in the dirt, smell of crayons, laughter, the right poem at the right time, awareness of one’s breath. There is also a recognition that there is a certain privilege in having the time, emotional space, and safety to reflect on such things. There is recognition that beauty and suffering are intertwined. Yet, each painting, photograph, drawing, and poem serves as an offering, gentle reminders that survival can be found in the small and that we have a radical right to joy.

This exhibition was co-created with Museum Studies students at the University of North Florida. Their desire was to recognize our individual and shared anxieties by providing space and permission to linger on the extraordinary healing that can be found in ordinary moments… the duality of our lived experiences. The hope is not to retreat, but instead to find respite, to recharge, and to resist.

ARTISTS

SARAH CROOKS • DOUG ENG • ALI FERNANDEZ • CRYSTAL FLOYD • KAREN KURYCKI • ANDREW KOZLOWSKI • KHALIL OSBORNE • TATIANA PHOENIX • LORN WHEELER • KIRSTEN WILLIAMS • ONE HEART JAX

CO-CURATORS

Chloe Buffington • Bane Campos-Sanford • Samantha Dallett • Sarah DiGeorgio • Samantha Jones • Terry Kramer • Amber Maddox • Eboni Maye • Samantha Moody • Marissa Moore • Abigail Scott