WILSON, N.C. — January 12, 2024 — The beginning of a new year brings with it a new exhibition at the Barton Art Galleries. “Wanting | Wailing,” featuring sculpture by artist Alexandra Morrissette, will be on display Monday, Jan. 22, and run through Thursday, Feb. 29. An opening reception and gallery talk lecture featuring the artist will be held Thursday, Jan. 25. The reception will begin at 5 p.m., with the lecture to follow at 6 p.m. These events will be open to the public at no charge, and the community is invited to attend.
Alexandra Morrissette is an artist whose mixed media sculptural works have a great physical presence, often made with a combination of materials such as plaster, burlap, rope, plastic and sting. In her artist statement about her new series, Morrissette notes, “The work exists in a state of constant balance, this series of work explores what it means for armor, in relation to body, to encompass tenderness. I am interested in how a willingness to remain open during a continuous act of seeking, searching, and swirling, can create a hardened vulnerability that leans into its durability. Materials bulge, bloat, exhale, and furrow as they are sliced, torn, stitched, and glued back together again. Through this mending, these sculptural forms present themselves as a statement of resilience by showing the gathering of damage and repair. They invite you to join the journey as a witness to vulnerability and adaptation. Collectively they begin a dialogue that asks, how can the pain you endure soften your heart and expand its capacity for gentle healing.”
About the artist:
Originally trained as a painter, Alexandra Morrissette has been exploring the realms of sculpture since 2018. She earned her MFA in Fine Arts in 2019 at UNC-Greensboro. Her work confronts themes of self, suffering, femininity, and sexuality while also grappling with how individual visceral emotion can address collective, universal grief. Recently, her studio moved into her living space, which forced this new body of work to be slightly less hazardous than previous materials involving plaster and cement, while also inviting a level of intimacy previously unexplored. She currently works as an academic adviser in the School of Arts at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
The Barton Art Galleries, located inside Case Art Building on the campus of Barton College, is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., or by appointment. For additional information, please contact Maureen O’Neill, director of exhibitions and educational programming Barton Art Galleries at (252) 3996476 or artgalleries@barton.edu.
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