Juror’s Statement

Jurying ATHICA’s 2020 juried exhibition which features contemporary art in all media that explores or references “Space” was an honor and challenge. Our experiences during the pandemic have redefined what our space is. For several months we have been quarantined, asked to protect our body, and distance ourselves from each other. It’s been a surreal apocalyptic dream that we haven’t woken up from. When I was asked to jury this exhibition, I was interested what the submissions would be and how artists would respond to this moment. What I found was a pool of selection that conveyed space with beauty, metaphor, structure, and language. It was a difficult task to select from a pool of exceptional talents.

As a curator and artist with a specific focus on installation and drawing, selecting pieces that demonstrated a relentless determination to realize one’s vision was at the forefront of my mind. The notion of Space itself is a massive subject. It can be defined objectively and subjectively. From the pool I focused on the visual narrative and the poetic space. I selected works that defined space as structure, metaphor, nostalgia, imagination, intimacy, ephemera, chaos, void, abstraction, and magic. The selected works explore a well-rounded variety of mediums and conceptual frameworks in an effort to engage all of our senses.

As we adapt in the time of pandemic and continue to make and develop our ideas as artists, we are fortunate to have a space to be able to escape and share our experience with others through this exhibition. Art creates an infinite landscape and it’s an honor to be part of it.

— Hannah Israel, August 2020

Online Exhibition
Click Images to See Larger, Advance or Go Back by Clicking Right and Left Arrows