A glass mosaic shaped like an armchair. A giant purple and green orb that vibrates with color. An encaustic work layered with photos and pattern pieces. In the hands of a skilled artist, material becomes meaning. That idea anchors “Material Matters,” an art exhibition now on view at Ardest Gallery in The Woodlands.
The group show features creations by more than 20 artists working across disciplines. Houston artist and educator Benji Stiles serves as the guest juror.
“Material Matters explores the dynamic nature of mixed media,” gallery owner Julie Verville says. “It brings together artists from across mediums and disciplines to create a cohesive show celebrating materials.”
Verville says this new Ardest exhibition serves as a tribute to innovative methods that push the boundaries of what art can be. It also highlights the stories found within the materials themselves.
Judging Material Beyond the Surface
For Stiles, materiality goes beyond surface texture or sheer volume of materials. While judging the submissions, he looked for work that lingered in his mind.
“When people think about materiality, they often think about texture,” Stiles says. “Or they think there needs to be a lot of materials involved.” Sometimes that approach works. It can create a powerful and layered piece.
Other times, materiality shows up through simplicity. It might appear through movement, form or an unexpected approach to painting or sculpture. “It could be something that catches your eye,” Stiles says. “Then you ask yourself why you keep going back to it.”
That question guided his selections. Was it the materials themselves or the material presence of the object? Often, it was both.
Winning Works and Artists
Three works were selected for awards from the more than 20 juried pieces. Stiles awarded first place to encaustic artist Shauna Martin for “The Mending Project I.” Her encaustic medium uses a mixture of damar resin and beeswax. The piece carries deep personal meaning for the artist.
“My mother made our costumes and some of our clothes growing up,” Martin tells PaperCity The Woodlands. “I came across these old patterns and painted them with photographs of trees.”
In the work, holes appear within the tree images. Martin describes the tree as representing the spirit. The patterns attempt to fill those voids. “They will never fill them perfectly,” she says. “But we do the best we can while we’re still on this plane.”
Martin credits her introduction to encaustic to a fellow Cy-Fair educator. It happened during an in-service day. “I went to art school, but I’d never heard of encaustic,” Martin notes. “We used that time to explore.”
Second place was awarded to artist Mariela Domínguez Moreno, known as XZZX, for her sculpture “Incubated Hearts.” Third place went to Jorge Canul‘s for “Leveling Up.”
Other artists particpating are Barry Krammes, David Bartell, Jackie Claudet Mitterer, Jamie Frontiera, Jamie Ladysh, Janet Haynes, Janice Paine-Dawes, Jen Bowles, John Bishop, Julie Wright, Lynne Buchanan, Margaret Schermerhorn, Maria Ruenes, Patricia Burroughs, Ramon Gamboa, Valerie Gudell and Zita Masley.
“Material Matters” is on view at Ardest Gallery through Saturday, Febuary 28. The gallery is located at 25200 Grogan’s Park Drive in The Woodlands and is open Wednesdays through Fridays from 10 am to 2 pm and Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm. For more information, go here.