October 6 – November 12, 2023
October 6 – November 12, 2023
AUGUST 5 – SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
AUGUST 5 – SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
JULY 21 – 23, 2023
june 10 – july 16, 2023
november 3 – november 4, 2022
september 10 – october 30, 2022
july 9 – august 14, 2022
Installation view, Light Trail, works by Abby Flanagan and Mariko Makino.
Light Trail brings together the distinctive sculptural practices of Abby Flanagan and Mariko Makino, both of which foreground the complexities of human engagement with the natural world. These two artists shape, contain, bend, and carve, playfully repurposing organic and man-made materials to illuminate moments of human interconnectedness with the landscape.
Installation view, Light Trail, works by Abby Flanagan and Mariko Makino.
For her tract series, Flanagan collects wool, feathers, charcoal, sand, and dried leaves and pours these found materials into clear polycarbonate sheets—most often used in buildings to retain heat without sacrificing light. The resulting patterns in this new body of work explore the visual affinities and conceptual conversation between spectrograms (visual representations of frequencies) of bird song and textile punch cards, referencing the region’s history of industrial textile production and the call of thrushes common to New England.
Installation view, Light Trail, works by Abby Flanagan and Mariko Makino.
Makino bends glass tubes with fire and hand-carves wood (specifically heartwood of the pine tree in the works on view), to create her neon light sculptures. The lines of colored light produced by neon and phosphor imitate silhouettes and contours the artist observes in the landscape. She joins the two materials with carefully knotted thread—a method inspired by garden bracing systems used to guide and manipulate tree growth. Emitting a diffuse glow, these works are grounded in Isamu Noguchi’s concept of akari—a term denoting light as illumination, and, as Noguchi suggested, weightlessness.
Installation view, Light Trail, works by Abby Flanagan and Mariko Makino.
Light Trail brings together the distinctive sculptural practices of Abby Flanagan and Mariko Makino, both of which foreground the complexities of human engagement with the natural world. These two artists shape, contain, bend, and carve, playfully repurposing organic and man-made materials to illuminate moments of human interconnectedness with the landscape.
Installation view, Light Trail, works by Abby Flanagan and Mariko Makino.
For her tract series, Flanagan collects wool, feathers, charcoal, sand, and dried leaves and pours these found materials into clear polycarbonate sheets—most often used in buildings to retain heat without sacrificing light. The resulting patterns in this new body of work explore the visual affinities and conceptual conversation between spectrograms (visual representations of frequencies) of bird song and textile punch cards, referencing the region’s history of industrial textile production and the call of thrushes common to New England.
Installation view, Light Trail, works by Abby Flanagan and Mariko Makino.
Makino bends glass tubes with fire and hand-carves wood (specifically heartwood of the pine tree in the works on view), to create her neon light sculptures. The lines of colored light produced by neon and phosphor imitate silhouettes and contours the artist observes in the landscape. She joins the two materials with carefully knotted thread—a method inspired by garden bracing systems used to guide and manipulate tree growth. Emitting a diffuse glow, these works are grounded in Isamu Noguchi’s concept of akari—a term denoting light as illumination, and, as Noguchi suggested, weightlessness.
INDIVIDUAL ARTWORKS
Mariko Makino, Pin, 2023, heart pine, neon tubing, thread, 4 x 3 1/2 x 31 in.
Mariko Makino, Tame, 2023, heart pine, neon tubing, thread, 6 x 2 x 28 in.
Mariko Makino, Halfway There, 2023, heart pine, neon tubing, 20 x 4 1/2 x 5 1/4 in.
Mariko Makino, Saddle On, 2023, heart pine, neon tubing, 23 x 3 1/2 x 5 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 1, 2023, polycarbonate panel, wool, charcoal, plaster sand, artist’s oak frame, 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 2, 2023, polycarbonate panel, wool, charcoal, plaster sand, artist’s oak frame,5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 3, 2023, polycarbonate panel, dried maple leaves, saw dust, blue pigment on paper, artist’s oak frame, 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 4, 2023, polycarbonate panel, plaster, charcoal, wool, sand, artist’s oak frame, 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 5, 2023, polycarbonate panel, plaster, charcoal, wool, saw dust, blue pigment on paper, dried maple leaves, artist’s oak frame, 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 6, 2023, polycarbonate panel, sawdust, wool, charcoal, artist’s oak frame, 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 7, 2023, polycarbonate panel, plaster, sand, saw dust, charcoal, artist’s oak frame, 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 8, 2023, polycarbonate panel, wool, sand, saw dust, blue pigment on paper, artist’s oak frame, 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 9, 2023, polycarbonate panel, plaster, charcoal, wool, saw dust, blue pigment on paper, dried maple leaves, artist’s oak frame, 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 10, 2023, polycarbonate panel, wool, sand, saw dust, charcoal, artist’s oak frame, 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 11, 2023, polycarbonate panel, sand, wool, sawdust, plaster, artist’s oak frame, 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 12, 2023, polycarbonate panel, feathers, sand, plaster, charcoal, artist’s oak frame, 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 13, 2023, polycarbonate panel, wool, plaster, saw dust, artist’s oak frame, 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 14, 2023, polycarbonate panel, plaster, charcoal, feathers, artist’s oak frame, 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
Abby Flanagan, tract (woodthrush) 15, 2023, polycarbonate panel, sand, charcoal, blue pigment on paper, artist’s oak frame, 5 3/4 x 4 1/4 in.
ADDRESS
112 Water St.
Williamstown, Mass.
01267
HOURS
Thursday: 11 – 6pm
Friday: 11 – 6pm
Saturday: 11 – 6pm
Sunday: 12 – 5pm
ADDRESS
112 Water St.
Williamstown, Mass.
01267
HOURS
Thursday: 11 – 6pm
Friday: 11 – 6pm
Saturday: 11 – 6pm
Sunday: 12 – 5pm