Unmoored
Solo Exhibition | Mary Zeran
Main floor gallery
Main floor gallery
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Exhibit Info & Statement
November 11, 2024- February 08, 2025
Solo Exhibition
Solo Exhibition
UnmooredThis show is in honor of my mother.
Following her loss, the absence left me feeling untethered, as if I were floating aimlessly through the atmosphere. Initially, this sensation was unsettling—a reminder of the fragility of existence and the ephemeral nature of our connections. However, as time passed, I came to embrace this feeling of weightlessness, recognizing it as a testament to the eternal bond between us. Since I was raised by an artisan and skilled maker, rather than viewing her absence as a void, I feel her presence envelop me as a force guiding and nurturing my artistic journey. In each of my paintings I celebrate my mother's legacy, transforming grief into a relic of her being and displaying the resilience of the human spirit. —————————————————————————————————————————-- Shibori When my mother passed away, I lost the ability to create my landscape inspired work. This profound experience led me to explore a more immediate approach found within the paintings I have been making for over 14 years. While I used to cut up the prepared painted substrate, I came to realize that each sheet of film possesses a strength that allows it to stand on its own. At their core, these works reflect my love for fabric, process, and color. Because my mother made all my clothes growing up, my love of fabric started at an early age. I loved spending hours in fabric stores picking out the material for new outfits. Together, we would choose a template pattern, and I would watch as she transformed our purchases into clothing. Those moments became more than just the act of sewing fabric; the garments were infused with creativity, self-expression, and love. My fascination with fabric continued into adulthood during a visit to the Seattle Art Museum where I encountered an exhibition on Japanese textiles. This is where I learned about the blue and white fabric called Shibori, a dyeing technique that involves folding and sewing. Initially, I wanted to create my own Shibori fabric as a tribute to my mother. However, I realized that tie-dyeing felt too restrictive. I found I was more interested in what happened to the paint when it wasn’t absorbed by the textile. Keeping the paint fluid longer, so that the color would have time to blend and flow into each other, was more desirable. I found this way of working created more unexpected patterns than the more predictable customary Shibori patterns. A spectrum of color, too, is a central theme in my work; I find it impossible to limit myself to just blue and white. Instead, I revel in the interplay of colors and the emotions they evoke. I am fascinated by how one color interacts with another, and I strive to convey these moods and feelings to my viewers. With my sculptures, I want the clay to mirror the draping qualities of fabric. I scratch a woven pattern into the clay, play with slumping, folding, and overlapping. My stripes refer to a traditional pattern on fabric. Ultimately, my work transcends the creation of fabric; it’s about the exploration of fabric as a concept. The driving forces behind my art are process and color. Through them, I seek to communicate the beauty of spontaneity, and the emotions color can elicit. -Mary Zeran About the ArtistMary Zeran was raised in a family of women artists whose textiles, embroidery, and woodcarvings, existed as their visual language; enigmatic shapes and forms were their words. Each time she picks up a brush or scissors she immerses herself in the language of her family, which brings her ever closer to their traditions, histories, and stories.
Zeran’s collage work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States and abroad including Cedar Rapids Museum of Art; SOIL Gallery in Seattle; and Chiang Mai University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In addition, her work is in several public and private collections as well as many corporate collections; including those of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; Cedar Rapids Museum of Art; U.S. Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids; Grafix Corporation, Cleveland; and United Fire Group, Los Angeles. Ms. Zeran is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. She received an Oregon College of Arts and Crafts Residency, and a 2% for the Arts Purchase Prize from the Visual Arts Commission in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Mary Zeran received her B.F.A and M.F.A from University of Iowa. She was born in Iowa City in 1964 and now lives and works in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She is the recipient of several awards and honors and her works are in numerous public and private collections as well as many notable corporate collections. |
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Exhibition Catalogue |
