Trace Matter

Montserrat Gallery

I invite you to view the upcoming group exhibition, Trace Matter, which includes work by six artists from New England, New York, and Minnesota that captures ambiguous historical moments by exploring what’s left behind. Artists Jimena Bermejo, Kristina Estell, Meredith Morten, Scott Nedrelow, Alisha Wessler, and Jenna Pirello explore various relics and remains through photography, sculpture, drawing, painting, and performance.

Jimena Bermejo (MA) is a dancer, choreographer, performance artist, and dance educator with more than 15 years of experience creating performances that explore identity, race, and power. At Montserrat, the remnants and audio of a hidden performance will invite viewers to envision potential narratives.

Kristina Estell (MN) uses a variety of processes and materials to create sculptures that generate sensitive and dynamic material experiences. For this exhibition, a series of silicone rubber molds captures specific objects that are layered in space.

Meredith Morten (MA), created a series of embroidered doilies as an outcome of a 2016 Fulbright to Austria and Hungary. Fascinated by the burial rites of the Urnfield Culture (1300 BCE - 750 BCE), she superimposed images of broken ceramic urns with cremated remains (bone fragments) onto handmade 20th century Viennese doilies. The crisp white doilies, found in Vienna’s flea markets, are oval and circular in shape bordered by lace, reminiscent of Baroque portraiture.

Scott Nedrelow’s (NY) paintings involve a post-photographic process that uses the materials of inkjet printing. Employing an airbrush to manually spray Epson ink onto photo paper, Nedrelow’s work alludes to shadows and the idea of an afterimage.

Alisha Wessler’s (NY) work explores hybrid objects, their narrative potential and taxonomic slippage. The drawings and objects she makes occupy the indeterminate realm between reality and dream, nature and artifice.

Jenna Pirello (ME) is a process painter, instinctually responding to an unwritten dialogue between herself and her paintings. Her work explores the transition from painting to sculpture and how combined, they can interact with a space and the viewer.

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