The Arc | Illumination, Ritual and Reflection
Curated by Jen Ervin
Featuring the work of: Rebecca Drolen, Noelle McCleaf, Jordanna Kalman, Richard McCabe, Neal Casal, Ashley Gates,
Michael McCraw and Jesse Koechling
April 5th – May 23rd, 2019
Opening reception: Friday April 5th 5:00 – 8:00PM

Redux Contemporary Art Center is excited to present a two-part exhibition, The Arc | Illumination, Ritual and Reflection a group show
curated by Jen Ervin featuring the work of Rebecca Drolen, Noelle McCleaf, Jordanna Kalman, Richard McCabe, Neal Casal, Ashley
Gates, John Lusk Hathaway, Michael McCraw and Jesse Koechling.

The Arc is a multi-media presentation that bridges black and white polaroid work with experimental films by artist Jen Ervin (b. 1971),
a Redux Studio Artist alumna (2011-2014). Ervin’s series began during her residency at Redux in May of 2012 and continued for a
period of six years, ending recently in 2018. The series ritualizes the waxing and waning of summer and the wild desire to remain in its
embrace. The works selected are presented as a rhythmic exploration of place—measured in seasons and sequenced repetition—
during her family’s retreats to their historic cabin set along the Little Pee Dee River in South Carolina. Visually rich in sensory memory,
history and mysticism, Ervin’s work alludes to a narrative with no beginning, middle or end, yet offers continuum. It will be installed in
an asymmetrical grid to reflect the poetic nature of the work. The films offer an extension of experience to the viewer, drawing in on
the intangible, a sense of mythical timelessness in regard to place.

Illumination, Ritual, Reflection, curated by Jen Ervin, is an exhibition that brings to focus nine contemporary photographers creating
provocative work that continues a historical dialogue regarding creativity and how it can elucidate the relationship between the self
and the ever-shifting landscape (societal, ecological, and psychic).

Invited artists include: Rebecca Drolen, Noelle McCleaf, Jordanna Kalman, Richard McCabe, Neal Casal, Ashley Gates, John Lusk
Hathaway, Michael McCraw and Jesse Koechling. The work presented varies from unique polaroids to large format photography,
digital animation to dark room imaging, and extends widely in genre and in scale; yet, shares a vision of universal ideals.
This photographic exhibition places emphasis on the external form (the object) and how it transcribes meaning, the creative process,
and the practice of experimentation to revitalize concepts of narrative, scale and beauty. It is offered up as a contemplative
experience to the viewer—one with underlying themes of identity, memory and the sublime. This is seen through various processes,
compositional arrangements (repetition and color), or by the complex layering of life’s rituals through words and pictures. These works
unify under the artists’ intention of exploring unchartered perspectives to existential and cultural questioning/reasoning. Through a
variety of approaches, these nine artists are able to convey the impalpable, provoke critical awareness (of self or world), shift
perspectives, spark curiosity, and initiate connectivity. Overall, this exhibition demonstrates the momentum of the spirit and how art
serves to enrich our lives through illumination, ritual and reflection.

EXHIBITION HOURS: Tuesday – Friday, 10am – 6pm, and Saturday 12 – 5pm and by appointment.