WENDY GIVENHap Gallery presents Creatio, a solo exhibition and installation designed and produced specifically for the gallery by visual artist Wendy Given.
With a production of vivid, uncanny contemporary photography, sculpture, drawing and installation, Given’s practice stems from a profound interest guided by natural philosophy, history, folklore, myth and magic—magic as a term meant to conjure the notion of the interconnectedness of all life forces. Nature is prescribed as a foundation of power, verity and mystery in her work—both intelligible and arcane.
Creatio investigates multicultural creation mythology with current interpretations of archetypal symbolism and imagery. Given skillfully and humorously depicts the macro and micro of our universe, from constellations in the night sky to the division of night and day, to renditions of forbidden fruits based on varying cultures to a skull made of ice—reflecting on modern culture’s mode of assimilating and processing myth.
Given’s visual craft conveys an intense yearning to honor and utilize our inherent awareness—to be conscientious of the fact that we are all, and always will be (as humans), integral to and dependent on the natural world.
Creatio Installation View
Hap Gallery, Portland, OR
October 2014
Creatio Installation View
Hap Gallery, Portland, OR
October 2014
Creatio Installation View
Hap Gallery, Portland, OR
October 2014
Creatio Installation View
Hap Gallery, Portland, OR
October 2014
Creatio Installation View
Hap Gallery, Portland, OR
October 2014
Creatio Installation View
Hap Gallery, Portland, OR
October 2014
Creatio Installation View
Hap Gallery, Portland, OR
October 2014
Creatio Installation View
Hap Gallery, Portland, OR
October 2014
Paradis (detail), 2014
Mixed media on paper
30 x 45 inches
Paradis (detail), 2014
Mixed media on paper
30 x 45 inches
Paradis (detail), 2014
Mixed media on paper
30 x 45 inches
Serpens Numbers 1 – 7, 2014
Clay, glass eyes and Northern Flicker feather
Various dimensions
Serpens No. 5, 2014
Clay, glass eyes and Northern Flicker feather
2 x 34 x 9 inches
Lights in the Vault of the Sky (Detail), 2014
Mixed media on paper
40 x 40 inches
Lights in the Vault of the Sky (Detail), 2014
Mixed media on paper
40 x 40 inches
Lights in the Vault of the Sky (Detail), 2014
Mixed media on paper
40 x 40 inches
Of the Garden: Caput mortuum, 2014
Ice and acrylic
16 x 16 x 16 inches
Of the Garden: Caput mortuum, 2014
Ice and acrylic
16 x 16 x 16 inches
Of the Garden: Caput mortuum, 2014
Ice and acrylic
16 x 16 x 16 inches
Of the Garden: Scindere, 2014
Wood, iron and deer antler
59 x 24 x 12 inches
Inscription: Regain the lost, ingrain bonds deeply with the stars, plants, minerals, animals and all of nature. These are the truest of ancients and hold innate unspoken cues of understanding.
Of the Garden: Scindere (Detail), 2014
Wood, iron and deer antler
59 x 24 x 12 inches
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