The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Ephemeral Folds: The Poetry of Floral Motifs and Layered Rocks, a solo exhibition featuring works by Carrollton ceramic artist Marjorie Nichols.

The exhibition features a variety of ceramic sculptures and installations that celebrate differing perspectives of floral elegance and the grandeur of geological strata.

The exhibition is on display in the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery from 4 March 2024 to 5 April, 2024. The exhibition will be on display during the Spring Art Walk at the Goldmark Cultural Center, Saturday 23 March and Sunday 24 March.

About the Artist

Marjorie Nichols grew up in a Chicago suburb. Both parents were artists, her mother, Nancy Nichols, a ceramic artist, and her father, Al Nichols, a wood sculptor. Nancy Nichols’ work is in a permanent collection at the Corning Art Museum and AMOCA Ceramics Studio in California. Marjorie is a part time ceramic artist in Carrollton, TX. While she has worked in the field of psychology for over 42 years, she still maintains a small private practice which over the last few years has allowed her more time in the studio to work.

Marjorie has attended ceramic classes at Brookhaven’s Dallas College for 17 years. She has also taken classes at The Dallas Craft Guild. Additionally, Marjorie has attended workshops at Anderson Ranch with Val Cushings, Doug Casebeer, Allegheny Meadows, Michael Connelly, and Tara Wilson. At Brookhaven, Marjorie attended workshops by artists: Peter Beasecker, Liz Lurie, Jerilyn Virden. At the Dallas Craft Guild, she attended several workshops including Christa Assad, Deborah Schwartzkopt, Jeff Oestreich and Leah Leitson. At La Meridiana Ceramic School in Certaldo, Italy Marjorie attended a two-week intensive workshop with Donna Polseno.

About the Exhibition

Artist Statement:

As a ceramic artist of seventeen years, I find immense fascination in the fluidity of form and the captivating interplay of light and shadow. My current work is an exploration of the delicate balance between fragility and strength, drawing inspiration from the ephemeral beauty of floral motifs and the timeless allure of layered rocks. Through the manipulation of clay, I seek to encapsulate the essence of these natural elements, creating artworks that evoke emotions.

Exhibition Overview:

“Ephemeral Folds: The Poetry of Floral Motifs and Layered Rocks” features a collection of 30 – 40 pieces, 12 of them being wall installation, and features a variety of ceramic sculptures and installations that celebrate differing perspectives of floral elegance and the grandeur of geological strata. The pieces will reference my interpretation of nature’s ephemeral grace and enduring strength and how they converge in a harmonious dance.

Theme and Inspiration:

The central theme of this exhibit revolves around the captivating allure of folded forms found in the natural world. Drawing inspiration from the delicate and fleeting beauty of floral motifs and the timeless grandeur of layered rocks, my creations seek to portray the transient nature of life and the enduring essence of the Earth's geological history.

Each artwork will weave a narrative of transience and transformation, reflecting the inherent impermanence of existence, and the unyielding force that shapes the world around us. The juxtaposition of floral motifs and layered rocks serves as a metaphor for the ever-changing yet eternally constant aspects of life and nature.

Floral Motifs:

The sculptures inspired by floral motifs will explore through folds, colors, textures, and size the possibilities of flowers. While flowers only give us a fleeting glance at their elegance, these sculptures and wall installations provide us the opportunity to be present with their forms mindfully.

Layered Rocks:

The sculptures and installations inspired by layered rocks will delve into the geological wonders that have withstood the test of time. Drawing from the rugged textures and captivating stratification found in rock formations, these artworks will evoke a sense of resilience and endurance. The manipulation of clay to recreate the essence of these ancient layers will serve as a reminder of the deep history that lies beneath the Earth’s surface.

Materials and Techniques:

To achieve the intricacy and fluidity of form required for this collection, I employ a combination of hand-building and throwing. I work with a variety of clays, glazes, and raw clay bodies to create distinct visual and tactile experiences, bringing each artwork to life with subtle nuances that mirror the natural world’s intricacies.

Conclusion:

*Ephemeral Folds: The Poetry of Floral Motifs and Layered Rocks* invites viewers on a transformative journey through the ephemeral beauty of blossoms and the enduring majesty of geological strata. Through the medium of ceramic art, this exhibit seeks to stir emotions, ignite imagination, and instill a deeper appreciation for the ephemeral yet timeless wonders that surround us.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Creative Expressions: A Celebration of African-Americans and the Arts, a group exhibition featuring works by Goldmark artists Bemnet Aragaw, Madison Cooper, Derrock, Asia Griffin, Jacqueline V Jackson, Gandhi Joseph, Elijah Moore, Roma Osowo, Tony Strickland, and Yohana Tecleab.

The exhibition spans multiple mediums including paintings, ceramic sculptures, resin art, sketches, and screenprinted textile work, and it was curated by Goldmark Gallery Committee member Jacqueline V. Jackson.

The exhibition is on display in the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery from 22 January, 2024 to 23 February, 2024.

An exhibition closing reception will be held in the Milde Gallery on Saturday, 17 February 2024, from 1pm - 3pm.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Look Back, See Now, a group exhibition featuring old and new works by the 8 artists of the Goldmark Gallery Committee.

The exhibition is on display in the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery from 15 December, 2023 to 13 January, 2024.

An exhibition closing reception will be held in the Milde Gallery on Saturday, 13 January 2024, from 1pm - 3pm.

About the Exhibition

“Look Back, See Now” draws contrasts between old works and new works created by the 8 members of the Goldmark Gallery Committee, who are all Goldmark artists and working across a wide range of media, from painting to ceramics and sculpture.

On top of their careers as accomplished visual artists, the Committee members, including Lisa Ballew, Du Chau, Jacqueline Jackson, Nan Martin, Marty Ray, Susan Sponsler-Carstarphen, and Terri Wilder, are in charge of the curation and operation of the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery and Norman Brown Gallery.

“Look Back, See Now” provides a representative insight into the artists behind the Committee, from their early works to their most recent pieces.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Tradition to Contemporary, a group exhibition featuring ceramic works by 8 Chilean artists, curated by Marilu Pelusa Rosenthal.

The exhibition is on display in the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery from 3 November, 2023 to 8 December, 2023.

An exhibition reception will be held in the Milde Gallery on Saturday, 11 November 2023, from 1pm - 3pm. The exhibition’s curator, Marilu Pelusa Rosenthal, will be present to respond to questions and comments about the featured artwork and artists.

All of the proceeds from the sales of the exhibited artworks go directly to the Chilean artists.

About the Exhibition

“Tradition to Contemporary” showcases works by Chilean ceramic artists Pilar Baranda, Isadora Correa, Isabel Izquierdo, Ruth Krauskopf, Teresita Marin, Clemente McKay, Vivian Rosa, and Marilu Pelusa Rosenthal. The exhibition is curated by Marilu Pelusa Rosenthal, the recipient of the Goldmark Cultural Center’s 2023 Anthony Okonofua International Artist Residency and a founder and director of the Centro de Arte Curaumilla.

The works featured in the exhibition are broadly representative of the Chilean ceramics tradition, with an emphasis on sublime functional ware over purely decorative works.

All of the pieces in the exhibition were brought from Chile to Dallas by curator Rosenthal, with the aim of facilitating an educational, professional, and cultural exchange between North Texas ceramic artists and their counterparts in Chile.

About the Curator

Marilu Pelusa Rosenthal is a ceramist and teacher in Santiago, Chile. She studied geography and ceramics in Chile, France, and the United States. Between 2004 and 2008, Marilu taught ceramics classes at Huara-Huara studio in Santiago, and until now, Marilu teaches ceramics and glazes in her studio.  She has also worked as a studio assistant in the ceramics department at Anderson Ranch Art Center for the 1998-2004 summer workshop seasons and at the Good Hope ceramic studio in Jamaica.

Marilu Pelusa Rosenthal has been an Artist in Residence at the Turgua Group in Caracas, Venezuela, and the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado.

She participated as an international curator and member of the Jury 7 Biennial of Ceramics from Gyeonggi, Korea, in 2013. She has exhibited her work in the United States, Brazil, Korea, and Chile. She is a founding member and Director of the Curaumilla Art Center in Chile for workshops and residencies and to have a multi-cultural exchange for work in ceramics.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Cartoons in Clay, an exhibition featuring ceramic works and drawings by Rachel E. Hoehn and Fred Holt.

The exhibition is on display in the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery from 28 September, 2023 to 27 October, 2023.

An exhibition reception will be held in the Milde Gallery on Saturday, 21 October 2023, from 2pm - 5pm.

About the Exhibition

“Cartoons in Clay” is a collaborative exhibition between artist Rachel Hoehn and her father Fred M. Holt, Jr.  Mr. Holt passed away in 2019 and his daughter has transformed his cartoons into clay works.  This exhibit also features written work by Mr. Holt, who was a writer in addition to an artist.  The exhibition has a special emphasis on using reclaimed and recycled materials. 

About the Artist

Rachel Hoehn received her undergraduate degree from Hendrix College in 1985. She was an art teacher in DISD for 26 years and in Mesquite for 4 years. She was also a teacher for Children’s Arts & Ideas for two summers. She also taught courses at North Lake College for 8 summers. She was a workshop presenter for DISD for ten years.

She retired in 2015 to take care of her parents. She maintains two studios one at her home and one at Goldmark. Her home studio is located in Oak Cliff where she teaches private lessons and every spring, she participates in the Oak Cliff Speed Bump Artists’ Studio Tour. She can also be found at Goldmark Cultural Center in Dallas where she has participated in numerous art shows and studio tours.

Her clay work has been seen in many shows including “Works in Clay” Irving Arts Center, “TVAA Citation Exhibition” San Jacinto Tower, “Student Spotlight Show” Northlake College, “Las Cruces de la Vida” Bath House Cultural Center, “DAEA Professional Show” City Place, “Making it in Clay” Northlake College, “Forms in Clay Show” Texas Clay Artists Exhibit, and DAEA Professional Show” African American Museum. She was also involved with the “Oak Cliff Artisan Shows” as well as “Funky Finds Shows”.

She has received many awards including “Barbie Art Teacher of the Year” and twice being nominated as Teacher of the Year at different schools. She was also featured in 1997 Dallas Child magazine.

She is a judge at the Texas State Fair every year and has judged the Northlake College student show as well other local art shows. Her other interests include community activities, biking and organizing.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Elemental, an exhibition featuring new paintings and drawings by Betsy Belcher.

The exhibition is on display in the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery from 18 August, 2023 to 22 September, 2023.

An artist talk about the exhibition will be presented by Betsy Belcher at 2.30pm on 9 September 2023 at the John H. Milde Gallery.

An exhibition reception will immediately follow the artist talk on Saturday, 9 September 2023, from 3pm - 5pm.

About the Exhibition

I like to think of my paintings and drawings as artifacts of my active perceptual process: my experience of form and space, animated by color and gesture, and inflected by emotion and thought. I want to communicate through the materiality of whatever medium I use. I try to think physically with the paint, charcoal or pastel, without language. 

I am devoted to the idea that abstraction is the authentic outcome of making art. I examine edges, boundaries, gravity, magnetism, surface, tactility, trying to find the accumulation of observations that constitutes an image.

The work in this exhibition encompasses a year of mixed media works on paper, exploring color after several years of work in a more restrained palette.

Perception is an active process that defines what the world is to each individual. My focus as an artist has always been from the inside outward. I want show what I see of the world. My paintings and drawings are my experience, animated by color and gesture, and inflected by emotion and experience. Communicating through the materials of drawing and painting, I mean to think physically with these materials.

At the outset, this work referred to the present time and the immediacy of things around me: trees, vines, natural forms, structures and changes of grade in my garden and places I move through, configurations of space in my house. But, my images are never this literal.

Fed also by my recurrent, haunting dreams of buildings and movement through topographies, the drawn and painted places began to turn into fantastical structures and landscapes. I mean these images to be abstract and to encompass the plasticity and contradiction of dream space.

I feel free to shift point of view and scale, in order to better evoke the temper of these completely conceptual places. Some are born out of my anxieties, others grown from my play with combining and trying to visualize these nonsense worlds that hold multiple contradictions. The filter of memory, places I have lived or traveled to before, visual art and literary experience all make conceptual contributions.

The larger drawings are intended to suggest environment, merging map and diagram, surface and atmosphere, passage through time and space. The newest small works are less edited and open ended searching for new ways of approaching process and subject.

I actively leave evidence of change in all these works, suggesting their revision as part of their generation: I examine edges, boundaries, gravity, magnetism, surface, tactility, distance and other elusive qualities that form the complex of apprehension of material and imagined realities. The chain of actions that makes the drawing or painting is built from the nature of the first steps, as I feel my way through the work.

- Betsy Belcher

About the Artist

Born in Texas, Betsy Belcher is a longtime resident of Dallas, exhibiting her paintings and drawings, teaching studio art, and holding the position of Art Gallery Manager for both the Haggerty Art Gallery, at the University of Dallas, and for Cedar Valley College’s Educational Art Gallery. Her work is held in numerous public and private collections.

She received her B.F.A. in Printmaking from Indiana University, Bloomington, where she graduated with honors, and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society.  She later received her M.A. in Painting, with a minor in Art History, from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and her M.F.A. in Painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Sanctuary and the loss of innocence… and since, an exhibition featuring sculptural installation works by Martin Delabano.

The exhibition is on display in the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery from 7 July, 2023 to 11 August, 2023.

Martin will present an artist talk about his exhibition on Saturday, 22 July, from 2.30pm to 3.00pm in the John H. Milde Gallery.

A reception for the exhibition will be held on Saturday, 5 August, from 3 to 5 pm during the Summer Art Walk at the Goldmark Cultural Center.

About the Exhibition

Martin Delabano sees the world in shapes. Working closely with nature, he pulls forward imagery into form to create for us a new experience, a new journey.  The shapes are the matter of his poetry: words that come together visually through the carver’s voice. Sanctuary and the loss of innocence and since is Martin’s story of the last few years: in and beyond isolation, new works created from solitude and a gift of time. 

Wood carving needs time. Pulling forms from wood requires patience, the skill of decades and the wisdom of knowing what shape is asking to be found: what story is asking to be told. Found objects play a role, too; offering the natural forms a counterpoint and the viewer a question: why? 

Sanctuary and the loss of innocence is the larger work presenting two figures in the garden surrounded by flora and fauna. This three-dimensional painting creates our experience to study this story of connection, seeing through their eyes and glasses, participating in their peaceable kingdom. With wonder as the first of all the passions (Descartes) we begin with wonder. Who are these people? What are the conversations and the spaces between them? And then you might wonder, am I here, too, or am I a spectator? Martin’s work pulls the spectator in and soon: remarkable details of humor and whimsy bring us into this conversation easily and in joy, we belong to this sanctuary for as long as we are willing to be there. 

The individual works offer equal allure. Find the unexpected: the work that watches you; the repurposed dowel, a box for your memories. In every work there is a vessel, literally or figuratively for us to place that which we need to place there. Perhaps it is joy, sadness, longing or surprise: whatever emotion, it and you are welcome here. Stay a while. 

“I am an image maker, a storytelling figurative artist whose works reflect my quirky take on my inner life and the life that swirls around me.” 

— Martin Delabano, 2022

About the Artist

Martin Delabano was born in Dallas, Texas in 1957. His father, Barney Charles Delabano, was the noted Curator of Installation at the Dallas Museum of Art for thirty-three years, in addition to being a gifted painter. Due to Barney’s career, Martin grew up in more a museum than a house, full of paintings, prints, drawings, Pre-Columbian, African, and New Guinea sculptures and baskets, all of which provided a profound influence.

Not only did he grow up around amazing art, through his father, his also met international artists Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, and Robert Rauschenberg as well as being family friends to important members to the Dallas and Texas art scene, such as Jerry Bywaters, Otis and Velma Dozier, and Octavio Medellin.

In addition to his father, Martin also credits his mother’s father, Harry Lester Taylor as another influence in his work. Harry was also a woodworker, carving bowls and making furniture with tools that Martin continues to use in his own work.

Martin received his undergraduate degree in Sculpture from East Texas University, and his Master of Art from the University of New Mexico. Shortly after, Martin became the shop foreman at the Refinery Casting Company in Dallas, and after 8 years, in 1990, became the fifth through eighth grade art teacher at St. John’s Episcopal School. Martin continues to teach and inspire his young art students to this day.

For more information about the artist, visit www.delabano.com

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Dallas Camera Club Celebrating the Print 2023, an exhibition featuring works by the Dallas Camera Club.

The exhibition is on display in the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery from 26 May, 2023 to 30 June, 2023. An opening reception for the exhibition will be held on Saturday, 10 June, from 1 to 3 pm.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Freeway, an exhibition featuring drawing and sculptural works by Hugh DeWitte and Julie Libersat.

The exhibition is on display in the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery from 22 April, 2023 to 19 May, 2023. An opening reception for the exhibition will be held on Saturday, 22 April, from 12 to 5 pm, during the Spring Art Walk at the Goldmark Cultural Center.

About the Exhibition

The great coliseums and aqueducts that stretched across Europe evidenced Roman power and preeminence. What are our architectural markers? A global symbol of our age is the highway.

Most industrialized people have used and can relate to the interstate. They have become a metaphor for modern life’s hum, with all its achievements and struggles. Massive interchanges tower over huge swaths of land routing cars and trucks across a worldwide network of travel and transportation. But if we look more closely at them, as art, they are complex, ever moving objects. These roads emote emotions.

Road rage when delayed. Anticipation and adventure. Curiosity and exploration. Striving and advancement. Struggle, compulsion. When viewing their construction, strength, complexity, and composition.

Ultimately - Highways reflect our humanity.

About the Artists

Hugh DeWitte
Hugh graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and resides in Dallas, Texas. He lives near the High Five Interchange; the tallest highway overpass in the world, where the inspiration for his current work began.

Hugh has a professional career as a graphic designer working at Robert A. Wilson & Associates, Corporate Communications firm located in Dallas, TX, and is now launching a professional fine art chapter, with his studio having opened in May 2022.

His fine art exploration has occurred over the course of many years including varied printmaking, metal sculpture and fine art commissions.

Hugh’s drawings and paintings use long, expressive strokes and primal mark making to explore the energy, concurrency, and beauty of what he calls “highway scapes.”

His spontaneous and free-form improvisational style incorporates the flowing lines seen in modern highways to create an atmosphere of strength and curiosity.

Julie Libersat
Julie Libersat is an intermedia artist and assistant professor of art and design at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, TX, TX. Born in Kerala, India and raised in Philadelphia PA, Libersat received her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2003. She earned an MFA in New Media in 2016 as well as a Masters in Art Education in 2017, both from the University of North Texas.

Libersat has exhibited artwork in the US and abroad including shows at the Dallas Contemporary Museum, School 33 in Baltimore, The Center for Art and Culture in France, Currents International New Media Festival, Paseo Taos and Museo de la Cuidad de Mexico. She has received a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Grant, the 2014 CADD FUNd grant and the Velma and Davis Dozier Travel Grant from the Dallas Museum of Art. Her work has been reviewed in The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and Sculpture Magazine online.

Libersat's research has been published in Studies in Art Education, the publication of the National Art Education Association and has an upcoming chapter publication in an edited volume, "Pedagogical Propositions: Playful Walking with A/r/tography." Libersat is a co-PI on a Humanities Connections grant from the National Endowment for Humanities at Texas Woman's University. Quakertown Stories is an interdisciplinary and experiential learning initiative that aims to integrate the history of Quakertown, a historic freedom colony, into courses at TWU.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present “Sideshow”, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Duke Horn.

The exhibition is on display from 20 January 2023 to 24 February 2023, with an opening reception on Saturday, 1/21, from 1-3pm.

About the Exhibition

In this new series of paintings, artist Duke Horn explores the drama and joys of life experienced by fairground patrons and participants.

The 20 year span of work that led to these works represented a fun challenge for Duke, and even as he moves onto different themes, the recurring motifs and visual language of fairground art continue to influence his newer works.

Artist Statement

Our constantly shifting cycles of attraction and loving behaviors are indicative of our humanity.

In the course of life, the journey of love fulfills and nurtures us, while making us more empathetic, able to withstand the capriciousness of living with one another and to confront the fears of death and aging.

Figurative painting is becoming more important now because of the distrust of social media, which obfuscates the veracities of intrapersonal relationships. When those relationships are fractured, as presently, all 2-D abstract expressionism becomes more innocuous and decorative for a one-size-fits-all aesthetic, with color and shape being the primary considerations.

I try to speak to the human condition and to the sometimes uneasy coexistence of apprehension and hope that is present in all of us.

-Duke Horn

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present “A Meandering Path”, a group exhibition of ceramic sculptures and mixed media, watercolor, and digital paintings by Goldmark artists and 2022 Gallery Committee members Lisa Ballew, Du Chau, Eliana Miranda, Marty Ray, and Joseph Yeh.

The exhibition is on display from 5 December 2022 to 15 January 2023. An opening reception will be held for the exhibition on Saturday, 10 December, from 1.00pm to 3.00pm. A closing reception will be held for the exhibition on Saturday, 14 January 2023.

About the Exhibition
”A Meandering Path” is a group exhibition of experimental and in-progress works by the 2022 Goldmark Gallery Committee members . The featured works represent departures from the norm for each of the exhibiting artists in terms of their usual materials, processes, and concepts.

The experience of creative exploration via the eponymous “Meandering Path” is a journey from fluid process to finished work, with many illuminating detours and intriguing stops for the artists to discover along the way. By deviating from the predictable, comfortable, and familiar elements of their normal workflow and habits, the artists encounter positive friction, which generates sparks of inspiration for novel works and throws new light on existing creative endeavors.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present “An Artist’s Walk: Ceramic Art by Barbara Frey”. This exhibition of handbuilt, wood-fired porcelain vessels by ceramicist Barbara Frey is on display from 28 October 2022 to 25 November 2022.

A reception will be held for the exhibition on Saturday, 12 November, from 1.00pm to 3.00pm during the Goldmark Cultural Center’s November Art Walk.

About the Exhibition
There are two distinct types of works represented in the exhibition: constructed vessels and tumblers. Inspired by rocks from Lake Ontario, the multipart vessels are assembled from various thrown and handbuilt parts. Actual rocks are used as press molds in the forming process. “Walk” and “Fossil” tumblers have textured and press-molded surfaces created using natural and manufactured found objects that the artist collects during her walks.

The surfaces that result from the wood firing process show a degree of natural variation and modulated color that is in keeping with the organic quality of the forms. The overall theme of responsiveness to the natural environment unifies the exhibition.

About the Artist
Barbara Frey has a BFA in Ceramics from Indiana University and an MFA from Syracuse University. She taught ceramics for 40 years at SUNY-Oswego and Texas A&M University-Commerce, retiring in May 2018. She received the 2013 NCECA Excellence in Teaching Award in recognition of a career devoted to teaching ceramics.

Her work has been widely exhibited and published and is included in many public and private collections, including the Ichon World Ceramic Center, Kyonggi Province, Korea; the de Young Museum, San Francisco; The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts; the Museum of Texas Tech University; The Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI; the Kohler Company corporate collection; the John Michael Kohler Arts Center permanent collection, Sheboygan, WI; the Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY; and The Kamm Foundation Teapot Collection. Her work may be viewed at barbarafreyceramics.com.

Artist’s Statement

A simplified view of the experience of art is that it functions as a fusion of the known and the unknown. It offers a base of familiarity from which to launch an enquiry that can lead to a new perspective on some aspect of human experience. The ceramic vessels in this exhibition have that element of familiarity simply because they can be located within the functional vessel vocabulary of useful containers. But what do they contain? My intent is that they function as containers for my response to the environment as I move through it, referencing particular places and times, past and present.

We were free-range children, growing up in the woods and the creek, raised as little naturalists. My impulse from an early age was hunting and gathering and my pockets were filled with objects such as rocks, fossils, and acorns as well as other “treasures” from the dump in the ravine that we were expressly ordered to stay away from! That impulse continues today as I take my walks. I still find myself paying attention to and picking up things that most would consider “trash.” The series of “Walk” and “Fossil” tumblers preserve these castoff remnants, the detritus of the manufactured world, in combination with found natural objects. Through preservation I assign new value and importance to the overlooked.

The other series of vessels are inspired by the rocks I collect as I walk the shores of Lake Ontario. The lake shore has much to offer but I am specifically attracted to beautifully rounded oval rocks, almost spherical rocks, and heart shaped rocks. Formed over geologic time by the grinding action of the glacier, they were subsequently refined and polished by the tumbling action of the waves in the lake. My interest lies in being responsive to these forms that nature has created and I have selected. This vantage point of recognition and responsiveness is very different from the design procedure that often initiates the creative process. It is important to me that I find the forms I want to use, not think of them or visualize them. Once found, I can use these rocks as temporary supports for forming soft clay slabs. These solid rocks are thus given a second life as hollow vessels.

All the work in this exhibition has been fired in a wood kiln. I have been a ceramic artist for many years but my focus on wood firing is quite recent, beginning in 2018. There are many firing choices available for finishing ceramic objects and wood firing has its own unique challenges and rewards. I am enjoying having a collaborative relationship with the kiln, knowing that the choices of color and texture I have made in preparing the surface have only established possibilities, parameters of chance for the flow patterns of wood ash, mineral vapors, and sodium carbonate. A 360-degree rotation of any of these objects reveals variations, both subtle and dramatic, that result from the kiln’s decisions, not mine. I liken it to shifting weather systems that ebb and flow across the landscape. That reference seems particularly appropriate due to the origins of these pieces in my response to the environment.

-Barbara Frey

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Inspired By Nature, a solo exhibition featuring alcohol ink paintings by Brenda McKinney.

Inspired By Nature is on display in the J.H. Milde Gallery from 16 September 2022 to 14 October 2022, with an exhibition reception on Saturday, 8 October 2022, from 1.00 - 3.00pm.

About the Exhibition

My work has always been inspired by nature. Through close observation and engagement with my current surroundings, I explore and photograph images that grab my attention with color, shapes, and texture allowing me to capture the uniqueness of nature.

With this information that has been observed I use sound and meditation to aid in the spirit of spontaneous expression. Making no attempt to portray actual elements of nature I allow the energy flow to dictate the colors, shapes and marks that are made on the paper.

I find alcohol ink to be an excellent medium that allows me to express myself with interesting results.

-Brenda McKinney
www.stargazergallery.com

Of Milk and Fire, on display at the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery, is a solo exhibition of figurative ceramics and functional pottery by Amy Henson.

Amy explores issues of maternal feminism, and the facets inherent in the intersubjectivity of her lived experience as a woman, artist, and mother.

The intersection of marginalization with tactile or wearable art reinforces her interest in craft media like ceramics and fibers. Humble red earthenware adorned with symbolic flower motifs is an ideal foundation with corporeal formal references to hip, shoulder, belly, and breast, textured by rhythmic and radial pinch marks.

The four pieces in Of Milk and Fire address lactation in various tones, asking the user to confront their relationship with the breast and breastfeeding. The conceptual ceramic pieces in the exhibition explore the identity transformation and act as a clarion call for reconciliation.

Of Milk and Fire runs from August 5th to September 2nd, 2022. The gallery is open from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM Monday through Friday. A reception will be held on Saturday, August 13th, from 1 to 3 PM.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Drawing Invitational 2, an exhibition featuring works by Byron Black, Yen-Hua Lee, Goran Maric, Florence McLure, and Kate Wood. All five artists bring together a stunning array of aesthetics, styles, methods, and conceptual issues in the drawing medium.

The exhibition will be displayed in the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery from June 24, 2022, to July 22, 2021. An exhibition reception will take place on Saturday, July 9, from 1 to 3 pm. Regular gallery viewing hours are 10 am-5 pm on weekdays.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present “Waiting for the Fire to Start”, a solo exhibition of new works by Sophia Del Rio.

Although Sophia Del Rio began developing “Waiting for the Fire to Start” in 2017, the final form of the exhibition was significantly impacted by the subsequent suicide of her father.

Themes of time, searching, curiosity and grief inform the work. Some compositions have crowded and colliding events, while others are hauntingly empty. Playful and hopeful undertones emerge in the titles and color choices.

While the works revolve around loss and death, they are beautiful, complex, and captivating. Sophia hopes that in viewing these works, those who have experienced similar losses can heal, rest, and find a sense of joy in the little things around them.

“Waiting for the Fire to Start” will be on display from May 13 to June 10, 2022. On Saturday, May 14, an opening reception will be held from 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm at the J.H. Milde Gallery.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s J. H. Milde Gallery is proud to present “Watercolor Journeys,” a solo exhibition by Karen Jacobi.

While living and teaching abroad for over three years, Karen Jacobi documented her travels through a dozen countries via the medium of watercolor. Watercolor became the perfect travel companion for Karen as it is easily transportable and spontaneous. Along the way, watercolor also introduced her to many friends through urban sketching groups, life drawing sessions, and curious passers-by, all of whom she would not have otherwise met.

“Watercolor gave me a purpose in my travels and helped break down language and cultural barriers. Painting with watercolor, especially Plein air, is a bit like meditation and requires you to be present and focused on the act of seeing – a great exercise for me. When I look back on these works, that focus enables me to time travel and recreate the feeling of being in a place”.

Karen hopes to return to traveling soon and, in the meantime, is attempting to see her familiar North Texas surroundings with fresh eyes.

The exhibition will be on display from April 1 to April 29, 2022. On Saturday, April 9, a reception will be held from 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm at the J.H. Milde Gallery during the Goldmark Cultural Center’s Spring Art Walk.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s J. H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Ellen Soderquist and Her Students, a group exhibition of works curated by Ellen Soderquist.

The nude “is an art form invented by the Greeks in the 5th century [BCE], just as opera is an art form invented in 17th-century Italy….the nude is not the subject of art, but a form of art.”

Sir Kenneth Clark

Drawings by Ellen Soderquist and the works of thirty-nine of her students fill the J.H. Milde Gallery and the adjacent hallways. In curating these works, Soderquist chose examples from a variety of techniques and media that students work with to communicate their individual vision through the nude model reformed into a work of art. Graphite drawings and classroom demos by Soderquist are juxtaposed against her students’ work. The exhibit includes gesture drawings in mass, line, and scribble as well as blind contours made while looking only at the figure and not at the drawing itself. Several blind contours are released from the drawing paper as wire sculptures. Other techniques include painting, palimsest, pentimenti, collage and drawing in graphite, charcoal, pastel, ink, watercolor and mixed media on a wide variety of surfaces. In addition, each artist has written a brief statement focused on their intent or background references regarding the image, the technique, or media.

The exhibition will be on display from February 18 to March 18, 2022. On Saturday, February 19, an opening reception will be held from 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm at the J.H. Milde Gallery.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s J.H. Milde Gallery is proud to present To Remember To Speak Our Mother Tongue, a group exhibition of works curated by Narong Tintamusik.

In To Remember To Speak Our Mother Tongue, artists explore the languages found within their dual identities. Olivia Arratia, Usama Khalid, Adrianna Touch verbalize their Mexican, Pakistani, and Cambodian heritage as Americans of color. Painting, sculpture, photography, and installation help translate the complex dialogue spoken between the artists and the world around them. Contemporary life forms complete sentences with generational customs. Familiar household objects, distant photographs, and convoluted shapes and patterns span lives of past, present, and future. These images uphold the importance of cultural preservation while existing within Western upbringings. Although certain information passed down from generation to generation is fragmented, the pieces start to form a new whole. Their unique viewfinders allow them to find their voice and continue their lineage. This new language they speak is a bridge between the two worlds.

The exhibition will be on display from 7 January 2022 to 4 February 2022. An exhibition reception will be held on 15 January 2022 from 1.00pm to 3.00pm at the J.H. Milde Gallery.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Remembering the Small Gallery, a group exhibition of new works curated by Rita Barnard.

Many Texas artists and art lovers alike have fond memories of visiting The Small Gallery, which existed for three years at the Galleries of Midtown, inside the Valley View Mall in Dallas. During those years, many outstanding artists shared their work for display on the walls of The Small Gallery. While memories are to be cherished, fans of The Small Gallery will be happy to know that they will once again have the opportunity to experience a Small Gallery exhibit in person.

Remembering the Small Gallery is an opportunity to bring some of these artists back together to exhibit new works of art. Featured artists include Mirtha Aertker, Future Akins, Katherine Baronet, Enrique Fernandez Cervantes, Steve Danner, Katrina Doran, Nancy Ferro, Merry Fuhrer, Linda Gossett, Marilee Vergati-Haynes, Sherry Houpt, Norman Kary, Roberta Masciarelli, Michael McKenzie, Pamela K. Neeley, Pam Stern, T. Stone, Jeanne Sturdevant, Michael Tichansky, Terri Thoman, Laura Walters, John Williams, and Chase Yarbrough. A special homage in memory of fellow artists, John Irizarry and Rebecca Guy is also included.

The exhibition will be on display from 16 October 2021 to 6 November 2021. An opening reception will take place on Saturday, 16 October 2021, starting from 12pm.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Leon Richmond’s Theater of the Absurdo, a solo exhibition by Leon Richmond. Featuring 27 works dating from 2018 and later, the exhibition includes a vibrant range of mixed media, assemblage, collage, and sculptural pieces.

The exhibition will be on display from 13 September 2021 until 8 October 2021.

An exhibition tour and talk will be presented by the Goldmark Gallery Committee on 23 September 2021 at 11:00am.

By the process of cultural anthropology, many of these cheap consumer goods have been given a new life, again to adorn the walls and tables of mainstream America. Core samples have been drilled in these non-fine art things and born again from merely rummaging through the grave yards of consumable "goods" re-swapped for more $$ in the stores of thrift and performing fleas. Leon has found inspiration in the cheap stuff of yester-year, thusly re-arting the stuff that was mass-produced to give the façade of style and class.
- Leon Richmond

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Drawing Invitational, an exhibition featuring work by Enrique Fernandez Cervantes, Jefferson Muncy, Kim Owen, Brad Ford Smith, and Ellen Soderquist. All five artists bring together a stunning array of aesthetics, styles, methods, and conceptual issues of the drawing medium.

The exhibition will be on display in the Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery from 2 August 2021 to 3 September 2021.

An exhibition reception will take place on Saturday, 21 August, from 1 to 3 pm. Regular gallery viewing hours are 10 am-5 pm on weekdays.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery proudly presents Reflections in Rust, a collection of sculptures created by artist couple Erika McIlnay and Alex Johnson. Both McIlnay and Johnson use their experience growing up in rural Illinois as a source for their work, each approaching Midwestern ideals and rural identities in different ways. McIlnay explores the complex relationship between strength and fragility, utilizing mixed media and multiple surface treatments. At the same time, Johnson references the blue-collar worker and the universal constants of the working man's job, using one-liners and idioms. The two sculptors have known each other for over a decade and have been pouring ferrous and non-ferrous metals together the entire time. 

Reflections in Rust will be on display from 25 June 2021 to 24 July 2021. A closing reception will be held on 24 July 2021 from 2 to 5pm at the John H. Milde Gallery.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery is proud to present Submerged, a solo exhibition of new works by Eliana Miranda. The exhibition is on display from 14 May 2021 to 11 June 2021, with an exhibition reception on Saturday, 22 May 2021, from 2pm to 5pm.

Submerged, hopes to create a discourse on the consequences of ecological disasters and the people affected. The works in this exhibition highlight the impact of catastrophic floods happening worldwide. Eliana Miranda draws inspiration from images and stories of climate migrants found in media outlets such as newspapers, journals, and internet articles. She uses color and the sketched line as mechanisms for underlining the ramifications of our ecological footprint and the transitory nature of human life. Her desire to continue to tell these stories through her own visual vocabulary is drawing attention and sparking conversation about this dire and pressing issue.

The Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery presents Interactions and Interfaces, an exhibition of recent works by 7 MFA students and candidates from the Ceramics Department at University of North Texas in Denton. This exhibition spans the gamut from sculptural work to functional pottery, highlighting the wonderful plasticity of ceramics. The research of each artist follows a distinct path resulting in a diverse group of works. The theme of Interactions and Interfaces speaks to how we experience the world through physical or digital means and how it contributes to identity, values, material culture and cultural objects. The work presented investigates issues that are present in contemporary art and craft in connection to the greater social, political and global arena.

Naomi Peterson investigates the role of ritual and communality in society through making objects that bring people together, which can be touched or give haptic feedback making the viewer aware of their role in relation to the object as well as their relationship to others. Her pieces integrate sculpture and vessel to address the isolation of living during a global pandemic alongside the optimism for a blissful future. 

Ben Statser approaches the concept of interaction through a playful lens, creating “toy-like objects” which appeal to adults and address issues of queerness and sexuality. By incorporating minimal and architectural forms paired with bright colors and contrasting finishes the conflict expressed in the work emerges. 

Jihye Han uses ceramic and mixed media to construct sculptural and installation based pieces that speak about the role of boundaries and how they affect social interaction, with a particular sensitivity to the influence of her Korean heritage and international upbringing. Her surface decoration and forms touch on questions about how we are connected or disconnected through space, time, and material.

Amy Henson combines richly textured pottery with ornate decorated surfaces and mixed media installations to address issues of feminism oriented around her lived experience as artist, woman, and mother. Her pieces invite an intimate sisterly gathering or a moment of reflection about the fecund potential and sacred space of a woman’s body. 

Bri Shimer is invested in codifying the relationship between culture and landscape. The contemplative interactivity of her utilitarian object groupings honor both the intimacy of tableware and the sublime stillness of a natural vista, asking to be cherished as personal objects.

 Eric Grasham utilizes concepts of ritual artefacts coupled with exploration of their cultural implications to engender introspection. With instilled landscape, highly intentional design, and the intuitive sculpting of components, a whole which addresses longing and responsibility emerges from his work. 

Courtney Segrest creates contemporary sculpture and ceramics to encapsulate memories and our emotional ties to them owing to the human compulsion to pursue immortality, which often manifests in the exaltation or preservation of our individual and shared past. Her brightly colored, chain mail, coil built dwellings are at once childlike and somber.

Whether it is personal discovery, learning how to respect our environment or a moment of happiness, we are innately aware that everything we experience is interconnected. 

Interactions and Interfaces will be on display at the John H. Milde Gallery from February 12th through March 12th, 2021. The gallery is open from 11:00 AM-4:00 PM Monday through Friday. Visitors can schedule an appointment to view the exhibition during regular visiting hours by contacting goldmarkculturalcenter@gmail.com. 

The Goldmark Cultural Center is proud to present Nothing Sacred, an exhibition of new works by oil painter Mack Brim. Featuring 11 paintings that are inspired by the origin story of Adam and Eve, the exhibition explores the themes of shame and lust from a feminine perspective.

The exhibition is open to visitors by appointment only. Viewings can be arranged by emailing goldmarkculturalcenter@gmail.com

About the Artist

I’m Mack and I’m an oil painter currently living in Dallas, TX. I’m originally from Oklahoma and I studied painting at the University of Oklahoma.

My body of work is constantly evolving, but right now I’m really focused on creating pieces that are intense and confrontational. I am interested in exploring narratives and aesthetic visions that have previously been disregarded. I love to represent young women and their stories in my pieces as an exploration of femininity and the current landscape. 

Characterized by bright and dreamy colors, my body of work melds traditional technique with a modern aesthetic. As a young woman finding my place in this world, my art follows suit. I love to explore the ideas of vulnerability and intimacy in feminine relationships with the self. There are undertones of sensuality, that represent the ways in which we can be intimate with ourselves as women. The ability to appreciate and love oneself first has been an important touchstone in my development, as well as in my art.

It’s my intention to create work that facilitates important conversations and makes women feel seen. I just love painting and the art world so much. I believe it’s my purpose to share my story through my work and empower others to do the same.