Chester County Art Association
BLINDSIDED by Mia Fabrizio and The Evolving Creativity of Lisa Fedon
Opening Reception: January 9 from 5 to 7 pm
On View Through January 30
The saying may be “Go big or go home,” but the two new exhibitions opening at the Chester County Art Association imply you can do both instead. The Evolving Creativity of Lisa Fedon, a retrospective of the artist’s work from the past fifty years, and BLINDSIDED, a singular art installation from Mia Fabrizio, open with a reception January 9 from 5 to 7 pm, and will be on view through January 30. Both of these large-scale exhibitions feature spatial, innovative pieces which command the spaces and the attention of visitors.
“Mia and I both use formidable materials to create our work, somewhat unusual for women,” said Lisa Fedon. “We also both incorporate humor in subtle ways within our ideas.” These commonalities make interesting juxtapositions between the two shows, even though they were created entirely separately, and the pieces themselves were made several decades apart. “As it turns out, I created a Self-Portrait in 1980 using a window blind between the wire and the layered window screen, which is a nod to her Blindsided,” Fedon said. “However, it is her use of textures and different materials that also relates to my work, and I am intrigued by her use of the technique of cutting away layers to reveal beautiful surprises, where I developed the technique of adding layers to create depth and detail.”
Mia Fabrizio also commented upon the influences of unusual mediums, techniques, and temporality in the shows. “Both of us reveal an understanding of time and being through layers, nothing is just one thing,” she said. “We're playful problem solvers in how we approach the materials we choose to use and how we respond to them.” They also share a bustling approach to their creativity. “We are prolific, we each make a lot of work and continue to want to make more work, it's like eating or breathing—making is living,” Fabrizio said.
The stages of life overshadow the exhibitions, with layers of life revealed in expected and unexpected ways. “In looking back, what surprises me the most is the influences of my childhood that is reflected in my work,” said Fedon. “A kindergarten art class where we used gluey string to wrap around a balloon, let it dry, then pops the balloon to reveal a 3-dimensional balloon shape with only a few strings.”
Childhood concerns about security influenced Fedon, perhaps more than she expected, especially when it came to trusting in her materials. “In third grade, when I had a class about fire prevention and fire escapes in homes, I was worried because our windows were casement, and I didn’t think they would open far enough for a ladder to fit down,” she said. (My own child is doing a home fire escape plan this week—I am quite familiar with the sudden worries about previously undiscussed construction issues!) “When I told my Father my concerns, he told me that our house was made with steel studs, which we could see in our entrance area, so it wouldn’t burn. I just remember the relief I felt and comfort I had in the steel,” Fedon remembered. “Two minor instances in my childhood stuck with me out of the millions of little events, and shaped my artistic career.”
In contrast, Fabrizio’s show highlights very current feelings of doubt and uncertainty. “The emotion that I feel is most represented through the work is tension,” she said. “It is visually represented through the female gaze of the six window portraits from beneath the skewed blinds.” The large-scale installation uses building materials such as siding, frames, glass, and even a familiar housewrap along with more traditional sculpture, drawing, and paint. “Tension is present in in the ceiling and house piece by the precarious use of glass,” she said. “It is also communicated through the jagged cut edges within the siding pieces. If a viewer were to somehow overlook the visual clues, tension—and perhaps a hint of betrayal—is baked into each title.”
Whether the inspiration is from decades ago or mere moments, there is also perspective on the present and the future. “A personal goal for this exhibition was to transform the space and in doing so my aim is for the viewer to leave with a wider perspective and broader (a more expansive) definition of art,” said Fabrizio.
That communal spirit of creativity and inspiring more art is shared by Fedon. “I hope the exhibition gives people self-confidence to pursue their dreams and provides some joy to their day,” she said. “Perhaps it will even be a seed to awaken a creative spirit inside of them.”
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