An opening reception will take place on Friday, Feb. 11 from 4-7 p.m.

“I feel that” is a phrase that comes up often in the group chat between artists Jennifer Combe, Jessica Hoffman, Hannah March Sanders, Cayla Skillin-Brauchle and Jessie Van der Laan. Artists, mothers, pandemic parents and college professors, the conversation between these women is multifaceted, including approaches to classroom teaching, artistic impulses and inspiration, Covid anxiety, the twin emotions of parenting joy and exhaustion, the funny, the mundane.

Spread across the country, and having never met in person as a group, these artists came together for the express purpose of finding common ground and space to both celebrate and commiserate. The physical and temporal distance between the artists has led to vulnerability and understanding.

Similarly, the work in this exhibition reveals heartfelt and at times precarious emotions through abstracted forms, which connect to the viewer viscerally. It cinches, spills, shifts, hangs heavy, tricks the eye. Shared among these artists’ works are methods and evidence of repetition, through gestures, marks and layers. Like similarities of experience in shared conversations, this repetition creates a varied reverberation, gathering and sharing strength through constancy. It also reflects lived experiences and drills into the emotional responses to these experiences. Within and amongst these works viewers will find an empathy and shared knowledge of what it is to live these artists' particular worlds. 

The exhibition was curated and installed by Hannah March Sanders, associate professor and area head of printmaking at Southeast.

The Arts Complex Gallery in the River Campus Arts Annex and Complex is located at 340 S. Frederick St. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 1-4 p.m., and 1-7 p.m. on Frist Friday with the Arts. All gallery exhibitions, events and talks are free and open to the public.