Lisa Barthelson:

meld merge mix

ABOUT THIS EXHIBITION

January 20 through February 27, 2022

Public reception: Friday, January 21, 2022, 6:00-9:00 PM

A sharp look at sustainability, meld merge mix is an immersive, site-specific installation that scrutinizes consumerism and its persistent byproducts. Through the creation of a new environment using one family's cast-off debris, Lisa Barthelson reimagines the impact of "disposable" objects familiar to our everyday lives and actions.

ArtsWorcester exhibitions are sustained in part by the generous support of the C. Jean and Myles McDonough Charitable Foundation.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Photo by Tim Johnson

Lisa Barthelson grew up in a family of artists and has been making art since childhood. Her work is inspired by a reverence for the natural environment, and the drive for sustainability through re-imagining and re-purposing of the by-products of family living excess. Barthelson has exhibited throughout New England and New York. Her mixed media, printmaking, sculpture and installation work have been featured in curated exhibitions of contemporary art at the Fitchburg Art Museum, the Newport Art Museum and the Danforth Art Museum. The site-specific sculpture hangling was purchased by the Newport Art Museum for their Permanent Collection.

Commissions include site specific wall sculptures for Kronos and Worcester State University. Artist-in-residence fellowships have been awarded by Vermont Studio Center, VT, Playa, OR, and The Kimmel Harding Nelson Arts Center, NE. The artist’s current memberships include the Boston Printmakers, the Blackstone Print Studio and Associate Member of the Boston Sculptor’s Gallery, the Monotype Guild of New England and ArtsWorcester. Barthelson works from her studio in Worcester, and from her home in Rutland MA.

Artist website

@lisa_barthelson

ARTIST STATEMENT

Lisa Barthelson: meld merge mix shines the light on consumerism and its persistent byproducts. The installation invites you in to celebrate sustainability through the transformation and reuse of materials I already possess: my family’s debris and recycled art materials. Melding, merging and mixing objects and art I own and have created over the years, this site-specific environment highlights the limitless possibilities and the power of art to reimagine daily objects and our actions.

While immersed in the vibrantly colored space, much of it created through the recycling of plastic components, and after a long period of isolation and darkness, please pause to experience the warmth, and the warning inherent in a world dependent on long lived disposable items. The organic sounds of nature are a gentle reminder of what we have to lose when we consume too much. Embrace the challenge for change in our everyday lives, and in the end, waste not, want not.

VISIT OUR GALLERIES

During exhibitions, ArtsWorcester's gallery hours are Thursdays through Sundays, 12:00 to 5:00 PM. Our galleries are always free and open to the public.

ArtsWorcester's main galleries are located at 44 Portland Street in downtown Worcester.

All visitors to ArtsWorcester must be masked and provide proof of full vaccination, and, when possible, a booster shot. Hard or digital copies of CDC cards or health-care vaccination records, and digital credentials from other states are all acceptable.

Thank you for ensuring the safety of this community and the full enjoyment of our exhibitions for all.

Parking is available at the Worcester Public Library (McGrath) Lot, Federal Plaza Garage, Worcester Common Garage, and Pearl-Elm Garage. Metered street parking is also available.

Artist talk

Artist Lisa Barthelson discusses her site-specific installation, meld merge mix, with ArtsWorcester Executive Director Juliet Feibel. The first half of this video features an artist talk in which Barthelson outlines her practice and the interplay between her personal life and her drive to create sustainable art.