”Not a Box” exhibit is on display in the Art League Gallery until July 31. Photo by Margaret Corum/Gazette Packet
“Not a Box” is the Art League Gallery’s first installation exhibit. All 13 pieces transform the gallery space using a range of materials and techniques.
Pieces were selected by Juror Alex Paik, a Brooklyn-based installation artist and director of Tiger Strikes Asteroid, an organization of artist-run spaces.
Gallery Director Whitney Staiger and other gallery associates were inspired by the recent installation exhibition, “Wonder,” at the Renwick Gallery in D.C. They decided to bring site-specific installation art to Alexandria.
Staiger was pleased by the initiative of local artists to “expand past medium and try installation for the first time.”
Local painter and Art League Gallery Associate Lizzy Lunday took advantage of the “Not a Box” exhibit to create her first installation piece, “Tunnel Vision.” Lunday described the experience as “thrilling” and said the process “lit a fire under me.”
On the benefits of installation art, Lunday said, “The medium allowed me to physically recreate the emotions I felt taking the pictures.” Her piece invites the viewer to enter a space flanked by two walls of hanging photographs. The enclosing effect provides an intimate glimpse into the obsessions of a woman losing her hair.
Juror Alex Paik awarded Andy Yoder’s “Tire Swing” Best in Show. The piece offers a message about the expectations people place on everyday objects and spaces.
Patron Mary Anne Rudy, sister of exhibited artist Beverly Ryan, enjoyed the exhibition. She also said Ryan took a welding class in order to create her first installation, “Drone Free Zone.”
Solo exhibition, “Vision at Water’s Edge,” by painter Kathleen Best Gillman, is also featured at the Art League Gallery until Aug. 7.
“Not a Box” exhibit is also open until Aug. 7 and the opening reception will be held on July 14 from 6:30-8 p.m. in the Art League Gallery.