What is local and immediate is always an essential aspect of Michal Ann Carley’s inspiration—the flora and the fauna, but also the manner in which the florae germinate, grow, and decline and the behavior of the birds as they court, mate, and migrate. Michal Ann studies and draws the nature in her surroundings and pays particular attention to its physical and metaphorical movements: those of growth, transition, and adaptation. Similarly the human form, particularly as it signifies these archetypal transitions, is at the core of her work.
Michal Ann translates these concepts into steel and glass, which by necessity requires simplification and abstraction. The processes involve heating the steel to 2000 degrees and using 100-year- old tools to forge and shape it. Similarly, the glass rod is heated in a 3000-degree flame, then pushed and pulled into the desired shape.
Opening Reception: Friday, June 1st, 5-8 PM
On Display: June 1st – July 31st