Located at the Blue Star Arts Complex, an exhibit titled “This Ship is Sailing” features various local artists who work with contemporary surrealist art with intense undercurrent connections surrounding personal relationships. Artists included are Ricky Armendariz, Maria J. Brown, Libby Rowe and more. The exhibit will be accessible to the public on weekends from March 9 to March 21.
The exhibit’s curator, Vikky Jones, titled the exhibit with the opposite intent on the concept. In the exhibit’s theme, the term “relationship” is divided into two broken parts; “Relating” is the primary concept of the word, and the word “ship” is a reference to sailing, but what the artists hope to bring to light is “Are you sailing together or apart?’’ Similar to the concept of “is the glass half full or is the glass half empty”; the interpretation of the title is to reveal more about the individual reading.
Among the 26 artists, one can find examples of relationships with oneself, childhood, shared history, dreams, family, loves, objects, nature and habits. The surrealist style inherently enforces relationships between different mediums to create unique images and bring new ideas, helping to explore the complexity and fragility of the artist’s relationships.
One photograph in the gallery, “Tinkling of Ideas,” is by artist Libby Rowe. This photograph is featured in a series from Rowe’s “Taming the Chaotic Mind” installation. This work features images cut into shapes that dangle and hang, representing the “noise” in Rowe’s mind from her roles as a mother, friend, partner, professor, academic, artist, human, etc.
“Each item represents a different aspect of my life: triangle banners are new headlines, birds on a wire are about social media, laundry represents family and friends, swing set with kids shows my children, etc.” Rowe explained. “These mental stimuli are “supported” by trees, laundry, telephone poles and a swing set.” Rowe allows others to glimpse her world of inspiration, ranging from friends to family. Her artwork explores sociological, physiological and
psychological aspects of femininity and the ideas of identity and sense of belonging through self-societal definitions as domestic constructs.
As an artist, Rowe claims to be curious, a researcher and a scientist drawing inspiration from different aspects of how we exist in the world. Rowe has long been interested in societal definitions.
“When this installation was lit, I noticed the beauty of the shadows on the walls and floor. They felt like the residue of the chaos, a peaceful simplification of the otherwise heavy mental load.” Thus, inspiration struck the artist. “I pulled out my camera, documented them, enhanced the images and made this set.”
Rowe plans to take “Taming the Chaotic Mind” to Louisiana this fall. “With my current job schedule, I am focusing on creating new work and looking for artist residencies.” To view more and keep up with Libby Rowe’s work, visit her website, libbyrowe.com. Viewers can also find more information on her as an artist and where her future work will be exhibited.
