Free Association Amy Long & Jennifer Davis

This exhibition features paintings by Jennifer Davis (Minneapolis, MN) and soft sculptures and installations by Amy Long (Traverse City, MI). Both artists call attention to process in their work with a focus on detail and abstract narratives. Davis’ drawings of humans and animals often meld into therianthropic portraits set against lush, textured backgrounds. The layered surfaces are scraped and sanded, with meticulously painted lines, shapes and forms suggesting surreal and mythical fantasies. The anthropomorphized subjects seem to tell stories that are oftensimultaneously childlike and dark.

Amy Long’s crocheted and felted sculptures also walk the fragile line between playful and melancholy. Inspired by organic shapes and bodily forms, bright colors and tactile surfaces allude to the emphasis on process. Long often begins with wool gifted or found second hand. Some forms are crocheted and then ran through the washing machine to harden the material. An element of chance runs through the process with the machine adding heat, moisture and compression. Once ready, the pieces are assembled into sculptures and installations. Lengthy stretches of material suggest connective arteries of communication or methods of travel.

The artists will be present for a reception on Friday, September 20, with a tour of the exhibition and Q&A with the artists at 6:30pm.

Jennifer Davis has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions including the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Minneapolis, MN); DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park (Lincoln, MA); Soo Visual Arts Center (Minneapolis, MN); Foster Museum (Eau Claire, WI); Bloomington Art Center (Bloomington, MN); and Turchin Center for the Visual Arts (Boone, NC), as well as several galleries in major cities across the United States. Davis is a recipient of the 2013 Next Step Fund Grant from the Minnesota Regional Arts Council/McKnight Foundation. She holds a BFA from the University of Minnesota.

Amy Long has exhibited nationally in solo, group, and biennial exhibitions including Five15 Arts (Phoenix, AZ) and Harry Wood Gallery (Tempe, AZ); The Canton Museum of Art (Canton, OH); Wichita Center for the Arts (Wichita, KS); Greater Denton Arts Council (Denton, TX); The Albuquerque Museum (Albuquerque, NM); Lancaster Museum of Art (Lancaster, PA); and Craft Alliance (St. Louis, MO). Her work has been published in Craft: Magazine and Fiber Arts. Long holds a BFA from Minnesota State University and an MFA from Arizona State University as well as an advanced studies certificate in felt making from Arrowmount (Gatlinburg, TN). She is currently Instructor of Visual Art (Fiber Studio) at Interlochen Center for the Arts.

You can view the Artist Talk here.

Exhibition Images