New Shows at McGuffey Art Center

[Elizabeth Howard]

 

McGuffey Art Center: First Friday Opening Reception – February 3rd, 5:30-7:30PM

Anna Fox Ryan, Sacred Union, oil on canvas, detail SARAH B. SMITH GALLERY February 1ST  – JANUARY 29TH Anna Fox Ryan + Fisher Samuel Harris “Meet Them”  “Meet Them” is to say; Meet Yourself, all of yourself and Self. Meet Them, meaning meet with compassion those aspects of yourself that span the spectrum of empowerment, including those disempowered aspects of self which we often judge, deny, or cast out. All aspects of ourselves carry messages and wisdom. Anna and Sam are interested in drawing back the veil to meet these many parts of ourselves and others, and the vast guidance that is waiting to lead us toward a more compassionate, loving, and tolerant way of relating to ourselves, each other, and the world that surrounds and holds us. Anna & Sam present a minimalistic curation of paintings in a space that beckons personal reflection.  As Anna invites us, “Bring your tea. Have a sit. For a spell, let there be no place to go but here, noticing the parts of yourself that speak as the paintings hold your gaze. May you simply Be, and listen.” Anna Fox Ryan’s oil and Mixed media paintings have documented a spectrum of power, empowerment, and soul for over 15 years. This has been accompanied by studies and experiences in psychology, shamanic energy medicine, conscious women’s work, Sacred Masculine & Feminine, polarity, and Buddhism. To Anna, “Them” refers to the many aspects of self, ancestors, descendants, Spirit/God, and the guiding forces and elements that co-create and express as life. After an arduous journey of pursuing the many reaches of power and spirit, Anna now relaxes into a notion of unity; all is connected within One as One. Poles are not separate, simply distant. Others are not separate, simply filtered through a different lens of experience, whether human, plant, stream, mountain, hummingbird, star, A.I., or otherwise. From this perspective, striving calms, curiosity bubbles, noticing arises, and space opens with room to either consciously create or to simply, gently, and compassionately Be. Anna’s culminating paintings of this verse of work offer an invitation to sit, to rest, to soften your gaze, to simply Be. [caption id="attachment_35218" align="alignleft" width="500"] Fisher Samuel Harris, Deus Innominate, 36 x 48 in.[/caption] Fisher Sam Harris uses his artistic journey as a vehicle for the calm exploration of the androgyny of soul. Through the relationship between queer bodies, the natural world, and mysticism they show the unified ground upon which all of our seemingly opposing aspects rest. In his watercolor paintings, Fisher aims to bridge the gap (or lift the veil) between what we might consider self and other, humanity and nature, sacred and profane. They hope to provide an opportunity for catharsis by showing the oneness of our supposed best and worst qualities.

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