Wednesday, March 19, 2014

A “COMMUNITY IN A GALLERY” – MERIDIAN WEST





The Meridian West Gallery opened in November, 2012, with a special mission. As co-owner, Nancy Clarke Mariani, expressed it, “collecting art is an investment, and Buffalo is filled with so many talented artists…it’s incredible how fortunate we are to live here amongst them. Normally a gallery is located in a community – here at Meridian we have a community in a gallery.” This beautiful, multi-use space, will host the EYE SYMPHONY Exhibition, with an opening on Saturday night, March 22 from 6 – 9 pm. Meridian Gallery is located at 1209 Hertel Avenue in Buffalo, New York.

Three of my “Discarded Ancestors” collages will be part of EYE SYMPHONY. These pieces began after I found photo albums thrown out to the curb in front of a demolished house. There was apparently no one left to care for all these mementos and no way of finding out who these discarded ancestors were. The photos were so precious that I wanted to preserve them in some form. To me, they represented all the millions of people who have passed through this city. Each picture is unique and yet so universal that it could be from almost anyone’s family. I took a group of the photos out of the albums and surrounded them with bits and pieces of abandoned Buffalo – graffiti, empty houses and decaying landscapes. They are framed in recycled wood with its own story to tell. It is my attempt to put the past and present together and to honor these unknown people. I hope their spirits are happy being part of this art and not just discarded as trash.


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