‘Dark’ art show intends to inspire
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FAIRMONT -- Fairmont artists Caroline Porter, Alexandra Hurney and Sydney Wren are collaborating to present a new group artist exhibition "DARK," which will begin with a reception from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4, and continue through Sunday, Nov. 1, at the Red Rock Center for the Arts in Fairmont.
All three artists are excited for the exhibition.
"I think we all worked out some new stuff for the show, because we had a couple of months to do so. But it's been fun. I'm excited about the theme," said Hurney.
With the displayed pieces, the "DARK" exhibition focuses on dark themes, including dark palettes, macabre and dark concepts.
"It's open-ended," said Hurney. "And I think we have a variety of all those things," added Porter.
Porter presented the idea six months ago after attending a similar artist exhibition in Omaha, Nebr. She wanted to bring the theme to Fairmont.
"I know there's a lot of 'spooky' people in town; they come to classes, they comment about the darker pieces that we do. So, I think the community can really benefit from this, and there's not too much that we do for adults around this time of year," Porter explained.
The exhibition plan began two months ago when all three artists decided to take it on and began working on their pieces. The artists bring 42 pieces to the exhibition: 21 by Porter, 9 by Hurney and 12 by Wren.
"It's fun to do this with these two," Hurney shared, motioning to Porter and Wren. "We all just came to Fairmont and found each other."
In their individual pieces, Hurney brings black-and-white pieces with gold accents, Wren brings light-to-dark landscapes with dark colors and Porter brings high-contrast pieces.
"We all did our own thing, which makes it really unique," Wren commented.
Regarding what perceptions could be conveyed when people view their pieces, Porter said creating the showcased pieces is a way to embrace the dark parts in her life. "I use my art to process that, and I think with a lot of my pieces, I want to help people process anything 'dark' in their lives," Porter explained. For Hurney, she hopes that people will look at her pieces and find the emotion or meaning within themselves.
"When I go into drawing, I don't necessarily think about portraying something to somebody. I rather have people look at my art and come up with their own assumptions or find a meaning within it. Most everything here is drawing to draw, in a kind of release for me," said Hurney.
For Wren, she hopes her landscapes give spectators a sense of meaningful relatability.
"As far as memories or something pretty to look at," Wren said.
Their overall goal is to inspire spectators and fellow artists in the community.
"With the "DARK" theme, I want people to also see the light in each piece," Wren explained. "Come support local artists and hopefully you can find your own inspiration in a piece." Red Rock Center Acting Director Blake Potthoff said events that shine a light on artists help the organization, community and artists themselves thrive.
"I think it's important to highlight artists as often as we can. They are highly talented people here in our community, and if we don't give them a space, where do they go?" Pothoff asked. "There's a selfish side of me running the Red Rock Center and the Fairmont Opera House; how do we bring more local people to every single opportunity we can? Because I don't want the local people who are here to go find somewhere else. This is their hometown, this is their area, this is their place."
Looking ahead into forthcoming seasons, the three artists plan to work together and on their individual projects.
The Red Rock Center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, or by appointment, and is located at 222 East Blue Earth Avenue. For additional information about the "DARK" exhibition, contact the Red Rock Center at (507) 235-9262.