Between Spaces: Work by Clark Valentine

Main gallery

Artist Statement:

My work explores the phenomenological experience of mark making. In my drawings, each mark becomes a unique repetition of the mark before it. Over time, the disruptions of the hand change the marks and the drawing takes itself in new directions. These variations of the marks become key compositional features. The process of drawing then becomes a balance between an active meditation of the mind and a passive response of the hand. In the making process, I seek to find moments of stillness where it feels as though my hand is moving on its own, responding to the needs of the drawing.

I am seeking a place of contemplative awareness, where my actions appear to become a passive response to the environment of the drawing. Through my studies of mysticism— the personal, experiential practice of spirituality—I am seeking a spiritual and mental state of stillness which is sought in nearly every religious tradition. Referencing Christian mystical traditions as well as Daoist traditions, these drawings become a record of time spent in silent contemplation. The slow, intentional movement of the body becomes integral to the work. Each mark becomes a piece of information, alluding not only to the time spent, but to my physical, mental and spiritual experience in that moment.

Clark Valentine Visual Voice’s Lecture - Bradley University May 1st, 5pm Global Communication Center, Horowitz Auditorium. Free and Open to the Public.

Cultivate

Bradley University Photography Senior Capstone Exhibition

Project Space

Exhibition Statement:

Cultivate is the Bradley University Photography Senior Capstone Exhibition showcasing work from artists Emmily Scumaci and Jenna Zeise. This exhibition is the culmination of the students’ time in the Photography Concentration Major where they meticulously researched, photographed, printed, and framed the series presented in this show.

Scumaci’s Hidden Hands shines a light on the underappreciation of blue-collar workers. By photographing her father’s tools, dilapidated structures, and workspaces she showcases these laborers’ deteriorating work conditions as a result of industrialization. Zeise’s Reaped Abundance examines the legislative and societal censorship of the female body, reproduction, and menstruation, through use of allegorical objects such as fruits. To visually convey the censorship, she uses the digital manipulation technique of pixelation to control what sections we are forbidden to look at.

Both artists utilize still life compositions in their series, an ode to historical paintings while modernizing them through precision with studio lighting and crisp, digital photography. Scumaci’s regally lit tools elevate the worn and undervalued labor that helps build society, while Zeise’s images of fruits draw us in with their enticing vibrance and luminosity before we are confronted with their censorship, leaving us to question why something so natural would be hidden from view.

Please enjoy how the Bradley University Photography Seniors use the medium of photography to highlight the devalued and concealed parts of everyday life and labor.

The opening reception for this exhibition will be May 2nd, 5-8:00 p.m.

The work will be on view May 2, 2025 – May 30, 2025

Gallery events are always free and open to the public.