Stephanie Barenz is a mixed-media artist who merges printmaking, drafting, drawing, painting, and photography. She traveled extensively before settling down in the midwest, including a year spent in China and another in Italy. The concept of the journey, and its ability to change someone as they move through new regions, neighborhoods, or cultures left its mark on her art making.
The exhibition title, Traverse, is a nod to the series’ focus on moving through and experiencing new locations. Barenz is interested in exploring the idea of displacement that comes along with travel, and how it is often resolved through the hospitable gestures and offerings of others. As an architectural term, “traverse” is used to explain something that extends or connects from one side of structure to another. Barenz uses this as a metaphor to speak to the empathetic connections that can and do take place between the displaced and the placed. Formally, Barenz uses a visual vocabulary of heightened perspective views, circles, geometric shapes, architecture, and silhouetted figures to explore these themes.
An opening reception will be held on Saturday, March 11, 7-9pm. The exhibition will be on view through April 1, 2017.
