The Harvard Square Business Association, in partnership with Intercontinental Management, is pleased to welcome “A Plea to the Nine Muses”, the latest installation at the 25/8 artspace project located at 2 Linden Street in Harvard Square.
Behind VA Shadows presents this group show which is on view through August 27th. Guested curated by Jeannie Dale, the exhibition showcases works by artists Alina Balseiro, Patrick Brennan, Corinne Burkhart, Tristan Calvo-Studdy, Claire Pellegrini, CJ Daly, Ronan Foley, Elisabeth Gerald, Eben Haines, Olivia Hochstadt, Jessie James, Fallon Lavertue, Tyler Ann Mack, Janella Mele, Megha Nair, Elliot Overmeer, Bell Beecher Pitkin, Mariana Rey, Annie Russel, Kayla Scullin, Quincey Spagnoletti, and Yolanda He Yang.
Denise Jillson, executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, commented, “We are so thankful to Intercontinental Management for continuing to foster the arts in the public way. This popup gallery exhibits beautiful artwork that is to be enjoyed “from the street” in an unexpected location in Harvard Square.”
As an artist and a curator, Dale invites artists to contemplate on their sources of inspiration, grappling with the classical concept of artists and their muses. Expending on the Greek mythological figures, the exhibition opens up an inclusive ground to explore the relationship between creativity and inspiration.
For the curator, she often struggles with inspiration in her own journey of artmaking, during which the working periods are punctuated by dormancy. Therefore, she shifts this curiosity to her fellow artists, attempting to learn about their relationships with inspiration. Concertedly, A Plea to the Nine Muses reveals the breadth of these sources, ranging from childhood, friendship, loss, dreams, time, and queer experience.
The presentation, coinciding with the gallery space, consists of three themes. In the first window space, the show begins with a concrete and representational baseline: the setup and ambiance of a home space become prominent. A slice of daily life finds itself in the artwork through images and objects: Overmeer renders the home appliance realistically in “The Oven”; Calvo-Studdy’s video installation “The Lynch Puppets,” chooses the interface of an old TV; and Russell and Pellegrini’s ceramic sculptures exude a homely feeling. Moving on, the tangible dimension recedes while the surrealist inspiration comes forth. Here, reality serves as a departure point, relinquishing vast possibilities of an alternative world. Dreamlike, whimsical scenes, introduced by Haines’s “Millenials Killed the Dinner Industry” and Balseiro’s “birthday watermelon,” transports viewers into an inner space. Turning the lens inwardly, viewers further inspect the self in Foley’s portraiture as well as the abstracted interaction captured by Yang. The last window space celebrates a vibrant burst of “Barbie” vibes, suggested by Dale. Hochstadt’s bright textile works and Spagnoletti’s photograph of a dollhouse create a fictional landscape, where memories of companionship come together in a mixture of real and idealistic manners, constructing a precious, staple gem box that welcomes revisits.
A Plea to the Nine Muses portrays one end of the creative cycle for viewers to trace back and deduce in order to find out about what has kindled the process. Nevertheless, Dale’s curation illuminates a flip side to the often personal and solitary artmaking: the overarching commonality of inspiration lies in connections fostered through daily encounters, the shared and nuanced nexus that connects artists with their artmaking. For instance, friendship being a constant source of inspiration, visible in the works of Daly, Gerald, James, Mele, and Pitkin, also resonates deeply with the curator. Dale is also inspired by the practice of Behind VA Shadows to form connections with artists and museum workers. Nurtured by similar sources of inspiration in human experiences, the artists, in their distinctive media, present a rich variation of approaches and differences through artistic intervention.