Carnegie Center Curator Daniel Pfalzgraf keeps a running list of exhibition ideas -- a “little black book, of sorts” -- in the notes section of his phone. Alongside that is a list of artists to fill these potential shows.
So when Ohio-based curator Agnes Burris mentioned to Pfalzgraf that she was batting around the idea of an exhibition on different interpretations of time, a concept identical to one of Pfalzgraf’s notes, the two decided to collaborate.
The result is “Making Time,” an exhibition that showcases both Ohio and Louisville artists whose work deals with the invisible, though inescapable concept of time. It will open July 22 at the Carnegie Center for Art and History.
“This exhibition overall is not an easy exhibition,” Pfalzgraf says. “But sometimes we don’t always need to be spoonfed easy work. Hopefully it causes some people to spend more time looking at the work, thinking about it and working their way through.”
Some pieces focus on more abstract interpretations, like Ohio artist Theodore Zanardelli’s series of drawings. Take his “p.t.e. No.11,” as an example. In it, shapes are seemingly dismantled and reassembled. Arrows scrawl from section to section, bridging the hollowness between the forms -- a calculated stand-in for the space between life and death.
Lori Esposito, also from Ohio, uses time as an artistic medium.
“She takes these shallow bowls or serving platters and fills them with colored dyed water, and then goes on long walks,” Pfalzgraf says. “Whether it is through a city or a field, and uses it to meditate.”
The length of her walk is determined by how long it takes for the water in the dish to evaporate, leaving behind colorful residue -- physical evidence of the passage of time.
Other works are even more visceral, like that of Louisville artist Matthew Loeser.
“He has this series of mandalas and some line work, and they are all created by a collection of nail clippings -- fingernail clippings -- that he has collected for over 20 years,” Pfalzgraf says.
Loeser uses his own nail clippings as well as those of family and friends.
“It’s not the most appetizing medium, but it is a very real reminder of time in our own bodies and our own lives,” she says.
“Marking Time” will run through September 17. More information about Carnegie Center Exhibits can be found here.