By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — Atelier art gallery has lined up a new exhibit that’s quite fitting for the Halloween season.
The upcoming show, which kicks off tonight at the gallery on Center Street in Warsaw with an open house, features a collection of skull paintings by Jason Myers, who splits his time in both Logansport and the Netherlands.
Gallery Director Sea Grandon’s online marketing (Instagram) prompted Myers to visit Atelier’s first show 17 months ago and they hit it off well, with both having previously lived in New York City.
Grandon often coordinates exhibits with the seasons.
“He and I have known each other since the gallery opened and I thought it would be a great fall show,” Grandon said.
She agrees the new show is a little different.
“I thought it would be nice for different people to use the gallery space in different ways,” Grandon said.
The exhibit includes thirteen mixed media resin works, nine paintings, and one monumental neon and metal sculpture standing twelve feet tall that resembles the villain in Terminator.
Myers calls the sculpture “Gavin Luminescence.”
It’s made from recycled scrap metal, salvaged building materials, and neon lighting. The solitary figure, while weathered and worn, still stands bright and strong.
As it turns out, Myers is working on a 30-foot version of that sculpture that will be featured at the entrance at an art fair in Miami in December.
The name of the exhibition, Infinite Jest, is a quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Hamlet’s famous soliloquy occurs as he contemplates the skull of the recently deceased court jester Yorick. Within the context of this monologue, Hamlet comments on the futility of life as he struggles with the persistent and ubiquitous human question of whether it is better “to be, or not to be.” Myers’ work evokes this duality of the skull: both a stark reminder of death and a luminous beacon of life’s continuity, according to a new release from the gallery.
Grandon says Myers’ work will appeal to a wide spectrum of viewers.
“Whether you are on your own spiritual journey, a fan of Shakespeare, an anthropologist or philosopher, a Medtech professional, a frustrated member of the electorate, a luxury good aesthete, or someone who wants to commemorate Halloween or Day of the Dead, this show has something for you,” she said.
Hours for the gallery are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Tonight’s open house runs from 7 to 10 p.m.
The exhibit continues through the Halloween season and the Day of the Dead celebration and concludes Nov. 2.
