Works by Jackie Branson, Pam Brown, Roxi Marsen, and Tmima Z
Amelia A. Wallace Gallery
Until November 27th, 2019
This exhibition features the work of four contemporary artists; Jackie Branson, Pam Brown, Roxi Marsen, and Tmima Z; and was curated by Pam Brown and Stephen Lamia.
“The one thing that comes to mind immediately is that sharp objects can hurt people—damage people; but they can also be forms of protection,” Lamia noted. “So you got this duel edge situation going on.”
This concept is explored very candidly, I have to say. The works consist of sculptures and assemblage pieces. As soon as you step into the gallery, you’re greeted with the lovely works of Roxi Marsen (who received an M.F.A. from Pratt Institute), including two of my favorite pieces “Lyre Variation” (2019) and “Target Practice” (2018), which is a ring with what appears to be a pair of scissors attached to it with a center target that has the number fifty on it. I was most impressed with Marsen’s pieces, as she uses ordinary and mundane “found objects,” such as frying pans, eggbeaters, and repurposes them to create intricate and layered works of art.
“We have over fifty pieces in the show,” said Brown. “And when [Lamia] and I put the show together, we weren’t thinking we would get such a beautiful large space like this.”
“Resistance” (2017) – Jackie Branson (Photo taken by Jalen Michael)
Beautiful might not be the word many would think of when hearing the term “sharp objects,” but these women definitely pull it off. Repurposing these regular practically “trash-like” objects and the ideas associated with them is something of an amazing feat. Brown says that the approach that all four women took was to go scavenging for items and essentially redesign them.
I believe Branson’s work definitely reflects that. She grew up in northern New Jersey and has earned a BFA in printmaking and drawing from the University of New Hampshire as well as an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania where she studied printmaking, sculpture and digital media.
In Branson’s three-panel piece “Resistance” (2017), she uses industrial saw blades and layers it on a yellow and white patterned carpet. Branson says she was working to alter the traditional way we think of these items.
“Mandrill” (2003) – Pam Brown (Photo taken by Jalen Michael)
“The themes I am working with is transforming these really masculine materials—sawblades—into a feminine, domestic pattern,” said Branson.
For similar reasons, my favorite of Brown’s works includes her “Mandrill” (2003) piece on the second level of the gallery. It is a large spiral sculpture that kind of looks like a delicate flower, but the material it is made out of is rough and almost masculine.
Brown received her B.F.A. from New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University and her M.F.A. from Mason Gross School of Art, Rutgers University, New Jersey. Her large scale sculptures have been installed in various institutions around the country including Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City and the Chesterwood Preservation in Stockbridge, MA.
“Never Again” (2016) – Tmima Z (Photo taken by Jalen Michael)
Tmima Z takes over the lower gallery in the exhibit, with various sculptures that connect with the Holocaust. She was born in Vilnius, Lithuania and moved to Israel. Her mother was a Holocaust survivor. The piece that stood out the most to me was “Never Again” (2016). It seems to be a collection of pieces from the Holocaust, specifically items that look like it belonged in a child’s nursery mixed with gun shells and ammo.
All four women brought something amazing to this exhibit. It is a really creative concept all around, and something that I think people should take advantage of and visit on campus right away.
