New Exhibition SHADOWS Opens February 12 at Pelham Art Center

Shadows Curated by Shilpi Chandra features the works of Elizabeth Knowles, Nate Lewis, Sa’dia Rehman, Tara Sabharwal, Mona Saeed Kamal, Madhvi Subrahmanian, Tansy Xiao, and Yeon Ji Yoo. The eight artists incorporate the physical and psychological dimensions of shadows – dark versus light – with each reflecting a different understanding of shadows both thematically and artistically. As a result, the selected artworks in Shadows communicate a new way to experience the beauty of shadows.

EVENTS | Free and open to all

Opening Reception February 12th, 2:00-4:00pm

Virtual Exhibition Viewing & Artist Discussion March 2nd, 5:00-7:00pm

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

In her multi-media installation, Mona Saeed Kamal uses negative space as a visual device and a central narrative. Shadows within her intricate papercuts emphasize the artist’s desire to directly confront personal and cultural experiences by raising questions about religion, conflict, borders, and identity.

Shadows become marks in Madhvi Subrahmanian’s photos of chalk and ink works on the sidewalks of New York City. In her Walk and Chew Gum series, these marks offer a contradistinction between the gridded containment of the city and the many expressions of constant change and movement.

Installation artist Elizabeth Knowles uses X-Ray images to create her site-specific three-dimensional work Night Vision. Just as X-rays send ultravisible light through the body to reveal the shadows of internal structures, the artist exposes dynamic patterns of physiology, life and death.

The darkness of militarist annihilation and the lightness of delicate papercut coincide in Sa’dia Rehman’s installation War Zone 1. Warplanes and drones appear as burnt forms in the paper, creating a shadowscape around the work echoing the artist’s impressions of chaos and suffering.

Nate Lewis portrays the unseen patterns and tensions within society. By altering photographs, the artist uses distortion and illusion to uncover and challenge perspectives on race, history, and the shadows of humanity.

Tara Sabharwal’s nonfigurative works approach the mind with attention to its uncanny and shadow aspects. Layers of subconscious take form through color and composition, shedding light on opaque or unsettling internal dimensions.

The imagery in Tansy Xiao’s Bone and Air blends states of dream and reality. Using a language of symbols associated with danger or mystery along with interactive instructions for the viewer, the digital piece is an experience of suspension and free-association in the shadow psyche.

The war-ravaged forest of Yeon Ji Yoo's installation "Rootless" create the setting of a journey made by the adventurer, the immigrant, the refugee, the lost. Burnt paper trees suspend from the ceiling forming an ever-changing scenery reflecting the battles we fight as individuals and as a collective.