TERRE HAUTE — The Halcyon Contemporary Art Gallery is presenting “Making the Seen,” an exhibition of paintings by Amy MacLennan and Mike Neary.
The opening reception will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday. In addition, there will be a closing reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 26. The artists will be present at the closing reception only.
Before the closing reception, at 6:45 p.m. on Feb. 26, a 10-minute play, “Same Old Story” by Lucinda Berry, will be performed by local actors John Seifert and Ruth Erickson.
The piece is based on both the imagery and themes in Neary’s and MacLennan’s work. This event as well as the closing reception is free.
MacLennan and Neary begin with stringent observation of the visual world. MacLennan’s watercolors are playful interpretations of the human figure: spontaneous expressions in blooming washes of color.
In her prints and drawings, related objects engage in witty dialogues about the gap between representation and abstraction. In her large narrative painting, she explores the trialogue among memory, imagination and perception.
Neary’s recent work is based on the proposition that learning to paint is learning to see. The subject matter of the paintings consist of landscapes of Terre Haute and of Hastings, Neb., as well as still lifes loosely rooted in the vanitas tradition. (The term “vanitas” derives from Ecclesiastes 1 and 2 “Vanities of vanities, …” that enumerates the many ways in which “you can’t take it with you.”)
The exhibit will be on view at Halcyon Gallery through Feb. 26. Halcyon is beside the Swope Art Museum at 25 S. Seventh St. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. or by appointment. For more information, call (812) 841-2884 or visit www.artathalcyon.com.
