BUCKHANNON — ART26201 will present “A COMMON THREAD,” a solo exhibition by artist Clare Murray Adams, Friday, July 29, 2022, at the M.I.B. GALLERY in the Colonial Arts Center. There will be an opening artist’s reception from 4 to 8 p.m., and Clare Murray Adams will give a special introduction at 5 p.m. Reservations are recommended for the artist’s introduction, and they can be emailed to info@ART26201.com.

In addition to the opening event on July 29, the M.I.B. GALLERY will be open from 4-8 p.m. on July 30 and also August 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20.

All events at the M.I.B. GALLERY are free and open to the public. Significant financial assistance for the Colonial Arts Center Rehabilitation project has been provided by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History; ART26201; Buckhannon Community Theatre; West Virginia Split Rail; and the FirstEnergy Foundation.

About Clare Murray Adams:

Clare Murray Adams was born in Canton, OH. She received a BFA from Kent State University and an MFA from Vermont College. She is a Professor Emeritus of Art and former Chair of the Visual Art Department at Malone University in Canton, OH. She now lives in rural Southington, OH, where she maintains an active studio practice.

Clare teaches workshops in collage and encaustic painting and exhibits throughout the United States. The venues where she has shown include Quilt National in Athens, OH, and The Third Encaustic Invitational in Tucson, AZ, as well one person exhibits in Ohio, South Carolina, Michigan and California.

Artist’s Statement:

Paper, fabric, paint, encaustic wax, boxes, and containers are the materials I choose to work with. I select these materials for their ability to communicate my ideas or create a narrative. My interest in techniques and processes include collage, printmaking, sewing, painting, and assemblage. Despite the variety of materials and techniques there are common threads running throughout my work. Exploration of memory, reference to women and women’s work, a sense of vulnerability and observations of the natural world are reoccurring themes.

There is also actual, physical thread in much of the work as I use stitching to hold things together or in place of a line drawn with a pencil. I find the act of sewing slows my hand and my thoughts in order to contemplate the experience or memory I am conveying.

Often there is a sense of transience in the way I use materials, a suggestion of impermanence as an object that was once one kind of thing becomes transformed to be or mean something else. Textiles, sewing materials and thread have a specific identity when used to create traditional and functional items such as quilts. But when deconstructed or fragmented and put into a different context, the identity of the original object is changed and challenged. It is the juxtaposition of the reassembled pieces with other objects that creates the shift in our recognition of the object, establishing a new identity.

The collages and paintings use repurposed materials paired in unexpected ways. Real leaves are combined with embroidered vintage fabric. Wire and plastic are stitched to the paper. Stitching lines become drawing lines.

Vintage lace is glued while a piece of a plastic placemat is stitched. These threads that connect materials and processes to idea and concept challenge the perceptions about the artwork thereby providing insight into another dimension of thought or meaning. This is what excites me as an artist.

About ART26201:

ART26201 is a non-profit organization whose mission is to “celebrate and promote the creative and inspirational opportunities in the Buckhannon community.” For more information about ART26201 projects, and for ways to provide financial or volunteer support, email info@ART26201.com or visit their website at www.ART26201.com.